MELBOURNE, Australia — Spectators booed an injured Novak Djokovic as he left the court in Rod Laver Arena after quitting one set into his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Dealing with a what he said was a torn muscle, Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) when he put a forehand volley into the net, then began shaking his head and immediately walked over to shake Zverev’s hand. The 37-year-old Djokovic packed up his equipment and walked off toward the locker room, pausing to respond to the jeers by giving two thumbs up.
At his news conference, the seventh-seeded Djokovic said the pain in his taped left leg was “getting worse and worse.” He hurt it during his quarterfinal victory over No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night.
“I knew,” Djokovic said, “even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”
He was bidding for a record-tying 11th singles championship at the Australian Open and record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title overall.