Jan 24, 2025 01:34 PM IST
Novak Djokovic had a particular message for Alexander Zverev after retiring harm from his Australian Open semi-final vs the German ace.
It wasn’t Novak Djokovic’s day as his valiant 2025 Australian Open marketing campaign ended with a whimper on the Rod Laver Area. After dropping his first set towards Alexander Zverev within the first set of their males’s singles semi-final, Djokovic shockingly withdrew from the match as a result of an harm and was additionally booed by the group, who had been equally upset.
Novak Djokovic shakes arms with the umpire after retiring from his semi last match towards Alexander Zverev.(REUTERS)
In the course of the post-match press convention, the Serbian was requested to judge his marketing campaign in Melbourne this yr, and he appeared happy along with his efficiency.
Zverev ‘deserves his first Slam’: Novak Djokovic
“I actually thought I played really well as well as I played in the last 12 months to be honest. I like my chances if I was physically fit and be ready to battle. I liked my chances today and who knows, of course, it was never going to be an easy match for me. I mean neither it was Sascha, even if I was not injured. I think I was striking the ball very well and lots of positives to take in terms of how I played. Semi-finals is a very good result considering you know the circumstances, but you know it is not satisfying to me for my standards. I always look for the highest goal, to reach the finals and fight for the trophy,” he mentioned.
“I wish Sascha all the best, he deserves his first Slam, you know I’ll be cheering for him and hopefully he can get it here,” he added.
In the course of the post-match press convention, Djokovic additionally revealed that he’s affected by a muscle tear and hinted at a potential retirement after the continuing season. Already 37-years-old, he suffered the harm throughout his quarter-final win vs Carlos Alcaraz, however was accused of faking it by John McEnroe. The tennis legend felt that the World No. 7 was attempting to catch his opponents off guard.
In the meantime, the Serbian revealed that he cancelled his coaching classes after his win vs Alcaraz, and had his first session, solely 90 minutes earlier than his semi-final showdown vs Zverev.
Zverev is the present World No. 2 and is a two-time Grand Slam runners-up, reaching the finals at 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open. He additionally clinched Olympic gold on the 2020 Tokyo Video games. Within the last, he’ll face the winner of the semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton.
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