Alexander Zverev is the first Australian Open finalist. The German tennis player, number two in the world and seeded, beat former number 1 Novak DjokovicThat he retired after losing the first set in a tie break (7-5). Zverev now awaits the winner of the semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton in the final.
The ten-time Australian Open winner had started the match with a noticeable bandage on his left thigh, following the injury suffered on Wednesday in the quarter-finals against Carlos Alcaraz. Against Zverev, the 37-year-old Serbian reached the tie-break of the first set and lost it 7-5, then he retired. The meeting lasted 70 minutes.
Djokovic, “I withdrew because I felt too much pain”
«If I had won the first set I would have tried for a few more games, maybe one more set, but I felt that things were getting worse. There would have been a battle ahead of me for another 3 or 4 hours and today I wouldn’t have been able to sustain it.” This is how Novak Djokovic explained his retirement in the semifinals at the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev in a press conference. «Since the match with Alcaraz I haven’t trained anymore. I did everything I could to manage the muscle injury, I did some physio treatment and it partly helped me but at the end of the first set I started to feel a lot of pain, too much to be able to sustain it. As soon as I return home to Europe, I will do other tests and talk to my medical staff to find a way to recover”, adds the Serbian. Djokovic does not rule out the possibility that this was his last Australian Open. «I don’t know, everything is possible but let’s see how the season goes. I would like to continue and I would like to be here again, in the tournament that gave me the greatest satisfaction. If I’m physically well and still have the right motivation, I don’t see why I shouldn’t return.” As for the relationship with Andy Murray, «I don’t know what we will do in the future. This is not the time to talk about it.”.