Novak Djokovic Withdraws from Australian Open Semi-Final Due to Injury
Alexander Zverev Advances to His First Australian Open Final
Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament after losing the first set of his semi-final against Germany's Alexander Zverev.
The set, concluded by a 7-5 tiebreak in Zverev's favor, lasted one hour and 21 minutes.
Djokovic, the former world No.1, approached the chair umpire to announce his decision to retire due to a hamstring injury, which had previously been aggravated in his quarter-final win against Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic revealed he was playing with a hamstring tear similar to an injury he sustained two years ago when he won his 10th Australian Open title.
He expressed uncertainty about his recovery timeline and whether he will participate in next year's tournament, emphasizing that his future schedule remains undecided but traditionally includes the Australian Open due to his past successes there.
Zverev, the current world No.2, is set to compete in his first Australian Open final and third Grand Slam finals appearance after his opponent's withdrawal.
During his on-court interview, Zverev praised Djokovic's contributions to the sport and urged fans to respect Djokovic's decision to retire from the match due to injury.
Having lost two previous Grand Slam finals, against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 French Open, Zverev will face the winner of the semi-final match between Italy's Jannik Sinner and American Ben Shelton, with the victor determined in the subsequent match on Friday night.
The set, concluded by a 7-5 tiebreak in Zverev's favor, lasted one hour and 21 minutes.
Djokovic, the former world No.1, approached the chair umpire to announce his decision to retire due to a hamstring injury, which had previously been aggravated in his quarter-final win against Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic revealed he was playing with a hamstring tear similar to an injury he sustained two years ago when he won his 10th Australian Open title.
He expressed uncertainty about his recovery timeline and whether he will participate in next year's tournament, emphasizing that his future schedule remains undecided but traditionally includes the Australian Open due to his past successes there.
Zverev, the current world No.2, is set to compete in his first Australian Open final and third Grand Slam finals appearance after his opponent's withdrawal.
During his on-court interview, Zverev praised Djokovic's contributions to the sport and urged fans to respect Djokovic's decision to retire from the match due to injury.
Having lost two previous Grand Slam finals, against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 French Open, Zverev will face the winner of the semi-final match between Italy's Jannik Sinner and American Ben Shelton, with the victor determined in the subsequent match on Friday night.
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