Injured Novak Djokovic Booed Off After Australian Open Semi-Final Exit

Novak Djokovic faced a surprising reaction from the crowd as he retired injured from his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev, drawing boos from some fans at Rod Laver Arena.

The 37-year-old Serbian star chasing his 11th Australian Open title and a record 25th Grand Slam victory was visibly struggling with a muscle tear in his upper left leg. The injury sustained during his quarter-final win against Carlos Alcaraz forced him to retire after losing a grueling first set 7-6 (7-5) in 80 minutes.

Djokovic said “I did everything I possibly could to manage the muscle tear, Towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle.”

Despite his efforts the match ended with Djokovic approaching Zverev to shake hands before waving to the crowd and giving a double thumbs-up. However sections of the audience responded with audible boos.

He said, “People paid for tickets expecting a great match and a big fight, which they didn’t get. From that perspective, I can understand, but I’m not sure if they understand me or even want to.”

Zverev the second seed of German continues his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title. He will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the final after the Italian overcame Ben Shelton.