Top seed Novak Djokovic ends his campaign at Australian open following an injury in the semi-final match against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne on Friday. The 37 year-old Serbian tennis star had to retire after the first set of the semi-final, due to the unrecovered injury that left his left leg heavily taped during the four-set quarter final match against Carlos Alcaraz.
This was supposed to be Novak Djokovic’s 25th Grand Slam title, but the quest shall continue where he surpasses Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam wins, until at least the next French Open. He had to retire prematurely after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5). It is the fifth consecutive grand slam where Djokovic failed to clinch the title. Djokovic’s last grand slam title came in 2023 US Open, two years on he is doubted over whether the star is able to overtake Court’s record of 24. The defeat also followed Djokovic losing what would be his career’s 100th title, which is a feat only achieved by Roger Federer in Tennis history with 102 wins.
The Australian Open 2025 final is set to be held on Sunday. German ace Alexander Zverev will compete with Current World No 1 Jannik Sinner in the final for his maiden Grand Slam title. Zverev has been a two-time Grand Slam runner up at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open. This will be his first appearance in the Australian Open.
Last year, Zverev was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals despite a 2-0 lead. Still, he could finish as World No 2 in 2024 winning highest number of matches after Jannik Sinner. Sinner overcame his cramp winning against American 21st seed Ben Shelton, reaching for his second successful final after the US Open.
Novak Djokovic’s fitness was already in scrutiny as he required medical attention, after the injury he faced in the quarter finals. He even expressed concerns about his physical condition before the match. Djokovic is known for his ability to recover, the movement came unexpectedly after the 27 shot streak in the opening service game and saving four-break points. And these break points, five of them weren’t well utilized by Zverev.
The match was on serve until tiebreak when Djokovic took a lengthy timeout and finally had to retire due to the injury. Prior to this, the Serbian had even skipped the training session on the day of semi-final. His exit from the match was met by mix reactions, where the crowd booed and applauded at the same time. The 10-time champion could only clap and signed thumbs up as he left the court.