Novak Djokovic Booed After Retiring During Australian Open Semifinals
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev both responded after Djokovic was booed by fans after retiring during their Australian Open semifinal match
Graham Denholm/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic earned the wrath of the Australian Open crowd after retiring during his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic, 37, was forced to withdraw after the first set of his match against Zverev, 27, on Thursday, January 23, unable to continue due to a muscle tear in his left leg. Zverev had secured the lengthy 81-minute first set in a tiebreak.
In response, the crowd at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena booed Djokovic as he left the court. The 24-time Major champion gave two thumbs up to the fans as he made his way to the locker room.
Djokovic sustained the injury during the opening set of his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, January 21.
Related: Novak Djokovic Says Pickleball Is Making Tennis an ‘Endangered’ Sport
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is worried about his beloved sport. Djokovic, 37, told reporters that “tennis is endangered” after his Centre Court win at Wimbledon 2024 on Saturday, July 6. “If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle — pickleball in the States — they’re gonna convert all the tennis clubs into […]
Zverev — who advanced to face defending champion Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday, January 26 — did not take kindly to the crowd’s treatment of his opponent.
“The very first thing I want to say is, please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev said in his post-match interview on court. “I know that everybody paid for tickets and wants to see, hopefully, a five-set match. He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring injury. So please show some respect.”
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
During his own press conference with reporters after his withdrawal, Djokovic said, “I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had.”
Related: Novak Djokovic and Wife Jelena Djokovic’s Relationship Timeline
Karwai Tang/WireImage Novak Djokovic and wife Jelena Djokovic are high school sweethearts — but maintaining a relationship as a tennis star isn’t always easy. “Us getting together was like science fiction almost,” Jelena told Hello! magazine in June 2023. “I was a student barely getting by, and he was a very young tennis player who […]
“Medications and the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today, [but] towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain,” he continued. “It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment.”
Subscribe to newsletters
Please enter a valid email.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly
Deal of the Day
These On-Sale Suede Clogs Look Just Like Birkenstocks — and They’re Just $34 for a Limited Time View Deal
Djokovic added, “I knew even if I won the first set it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
The tennis star was seeking to extend his record by winning his 11th Australian Open title. No other men’s player has won more than 6.
Djokovic holds the record for most Major titles won by a men’s player with 24. Retired stars Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are second and third on the list with 22 and 20 Major titles, respectively.
Just For You