The Australian Open semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev came to a shocking conclusion late Thursday night for fans watching in the United States when Djokovic retired due to injury after a thrilling first set.
Djokovic and Zverev played to a tiebreak in the opening set of what had all the makings of a five-set classic, and by the time Zverev took the tiebreak 7–5, 82 minutes had passed.
As soon as the final point of the set was decided, Djokovic went to shake Zverev’s hand, bowing out of the match.
Novak Djokovic retires due to injury after dropping the first set 7-6 😮
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 24, 2025
Alexander Zverev advances to the Australian Open Finals!#AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/YLMJINXYMj
Some fans booed as Djokovic walked off the court, which he responded to with a thumbs up.
Novak Djokovic says goodbye to Rod Laver Arena after retiring from the semifinal against Zverev at Australian Open.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2025
Some of the crowd was booing him.
Novak puts his thumbs up.
pic.twitter.com/Cc17GT82fb
With the win, Zverev moved on to the final, where he will face the winner of the match between Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner with hopes of securing the first major title of his career.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Novak Djokovic Retires After Dropping First Set of Australian Open Semifinal .
