Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic said he didn’t know if this would be his last appearance at Melbourne Park after he retired from his semi-final due to a groin injury just one set into Friday’s eagerly awaited contest against Alexander Zverev.
The 37-year-old was booed off the court by some sections of the Rod Laver Arena audience in behaviour widely condemned by current and ex-players.
When he was asked whether this was his last Australian Open, the 37-year-old was noncommittal. “I don’t know, there is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” he said.
“I want to keep going, but whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure. I normally like to come to Australia and play, and I’ve had the biggest success in my career here. So if I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come, but there’s always a chance.”
The Serbian suffered an injury to his groin area in his quarter-final against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday and took to the court with both dark tape and a white bandage enveloping his upper thigh.
He revealed afterwards he had not hit a ball since his previous match, and the pain proved too much. “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic said.
“Medications, and this 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, and it was too much to handle for me at the moment. So, yeah, unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
Djokovic addressed the booing from some sections of the crowd in comments to Serbian media: “People came here, bought a ticket, expected a battle and they’re not satisfied. If you look at it from that perspective, I understand,” he said, in his native Serbian.
“I am trying to understand them and I don’t know if they understand me, or are at least willing to. I know what’s happening in my body, and I know how I feel, how much energy I’ve given this tournament over the last 20-plus years.”
Despite the ailment, Djokovic looked close to his best across 81 minutes in a taxing first set, won narrowly by the German in a tie-break 7-5. But after missing a volley to hand Zverev the set, the Serb walked to the opposite side of the court and embraced the second seed.
After an announcement saying the match was over, Djokovic walked off the court amid a chorus of boos from some sections of the crowd, who had paid hundreds of dollars for tickets. Djokovic raised his arms and gave two thumbs-up gestures.
Immediately afterwards Zverev criticised those who booed Djokovic, in his on-court interview after the match.
“I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see, hopefully, a great five-set match and everything. But you’ve got to understand, Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport, for the past 20 years, absolutely everything of his life.”
On host broadcaster Channel Nine, commentator and former Australian tennis player John Millman criticised the crowd’s reaction. “It was only a small portion [of the crowd], but you don’t boo a champion,” he said.
Zverev is chasing his first grand slam title and will meet either world No 1 Jannik Sinner or 21st seed Ben Shelton in the final. He described Sinner as “the best player in the world for the past 12 months” and Shelton as one with “unbelievable power”. “We’ll see who it’s going to be,” Zverev said. “I’m sure it’s going to be a tough battle on Sunday no matter who it is.”
Djokovic said although he didn’t know whether he would be back in Melbourne, he felt he played his best tennis of the past 12 months against Alcaraz and he would manage his body as well as he could.
“It is true that [I have been] getting injured quite a bit the last few years. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that, maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going, I’ll keep striving to win more slams. And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”
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