Novak Djokovic retires from Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic has retired from his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set in a tiebreak.

Djokovic missed a regulation putaway volley on top of the net down 5-6, and immediately embraced Zverev at the net before shaking hands with the umpire and walking off court.

“Novak Djokovic has given everything to this sport for his whole life, 20 years,” Zverev said on court after it was over.

”I played him here in 2021 when he had an abdominal tear, and he served 28 aces against me.”

The first set lasted one hour and 21 minutes, including the tiebreak, with both players missing break-point chances.

There was nothing between the players, even though Djokovic’s movement looked compromised at times. His serve speeds were down, with some second serves clocking in at 133kmh (82mph), well down from the fast, sliced second serves he had used to such great effect against Carlos Alcaraz in his quarterfinal win.

“I don’t think I could have stayed with him in rallies for two, three, four more hours,” Djokovic said in his post-match news conference.

“Towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was, yeah, too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment.

“In the past I managed certain injuries that to some extent even helped me play better.

“When you’re on the court it’s adrenalin, it’s a lot of things… Emotionally it’s a rollercoaster. In some phases of the match you’re feeling better, in some you’re feeling almost anxious. Sometimes you weather that storm, sometimes you don’t,” he said.

Zverev had plenty of early chances but missed four break points to go up 2-1, playing too passively even when ahead in rallies. He responded well to the disappointment, fending off three break points himself in the next game to level at 2-2.

The match was moving at a glacial pace, with only nine games played when the clock ticked over the hour mark. Zverev missed another break point to go up 5-4, again hoping for a mistake rather than forcing the issue.

Djokovic was far from his best, but the match always felt in the balance. “I played one of my best sets of the tournament and won 7-5 in a tiebreak when Novak was injured,” Zverev said.

After forcing a set point with a brilliant inside-in forehand winner, the No. 2 seed gratefully received the gift of Djokovic’s missed volley.

He almost looked embarrassed to be declared the winner, while Djokovic waved goodbye to the court which he has made his living room for the past decade and a half. There was a smattering of boos, but largely there was sympathy and warmth — and a bit of stunned silence — as he exited the scene.

Djokovic injured his left leg during his quarterfinal win over Alcaraz, requiring treatment at the end of the first set. In his post-match news conference, Djokovic was unsure of how fit he would be for the semifinal, having taken two doses of painkillers in order to get through four sets against Alcaraz. Having won the Australian Open with muscle tears twice in the past, it was expected that he could still get through the match, but such an attritional, grinding first set proved too much.

Zverev will face Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in Sunday’s final, as he seeks a first Grand Slam title.

(Getty Images)