Novak Djokovic's retirement during the first semi-final of the 2025 Australian Open was not appreciated by the crowd, who loudly booed him when he left the Rod Laver Arena. Everyone knew that the former world number 1 was not in top form due to an adductor injury, which had not prevented him from defeating Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals at the end of one of the most spectacular matches of this edition.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Happy Slam has always brought great luck to the Serbian legend, but this time Nole could not go beyond his limits and had to shake hands with Alexander Zverev at the end of the first set. The 24-time Grand Slam champion gave his best in the first set and lost it in the tiebreak by a very small margin, understanding that it would make no sense to continue playing with that pain.
Already after his match against Alcaraz, his injury had been the subject of doubts and insinuations from fans and insiders who had accused him of accentuating the extent of his pain. In the press conference, the 37-year-old from Belgrade revealed that it is a tear and that two days of recovery were not enough to be able to compete at the highest level in a Grand Slam semifinal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clement defends Djokovic
Arnaud Clement analyst for Eurosport expressed his opinion on Novak's injury and his decision to retire: "It was not a lucky epilogue, in fact it was a real shame, as well as the reaction of the Australian crowd when Nole retired. The fact that Djokovic was booed when he left the court left me speechless.
The Serbian gave a thumbs up to the crowd in a wry tone because he couldn't believe they were booing him. Whoever made that gesture has no knowledge of this sport."
The former world No.1 will undergo further tests after his return to Serbia and see if he can play the Doha ATP 500 next month.
It is unclear whether or not his collaboration with Andy Murray will continue.
