Novak Djokovic could not fight for his 11th Australian Open title! The Serb injured his left leg in the quarter-final duel against Carlos Alcaraz and retired versus Alexander Zverev after the opening set of the semi-final clash.
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Speaking about the injury, Novak cited a muscle tear in his left leg that forced him to retire at a Major for the first time since the 2019 US Open. Djokovic asked for a medical timeout in the closing stages of the opening set against Alcaraz.
The 37-year-old struggled in the second set as well but brought it home. The medication started to work, and Novak felt better on the court, toppling the young gun in four sets after three hours and 37 minutes. However, things did not look bright for the ten-time winner ahead of the semi-final!
Novak did not hit a ball on Wednesday and Thursday, working with his team and trying to reduce the damage. The legend fought well in the opening set against world no. 2, saving all five break points and remaining competitive.
The set went into a tie break, and Djokovic's condition worsened. He endured for 80 minutes before netting a volley at 5-6, sending Zverev in front and leaving the court. Novak would have tried to continue had he won the opener.
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However,considering the increased pain, it would have been a Sisyphean task. Thus, Djokovic ended his Australian Open campaign in the semi-final for the second straight year. The veteran will return to Europe and try to recover ahead of the ATP 500 event in Doha.
"I beat Carlos on Tuesday and did not hit a ball until an hour before my match against Alexander. I did everything in my power to control the muscle tear with medication, protection and physiotherapy work.
However, the pain increased towards the end of the first set, becoming too much to deal with. I would have tried to continue if I had won the first set. However, the injury was getting worse during the more energetic exchanges.
Thus, itwas impossible to stay on the court longer. I thought two days of rest would be enough, but that was not the case," Novak Djokovic said.
