In Melbourne, Novak Djokovic seemed like he was on a mission to clinch a record-extending eleventh Australian Open title. The Serbian defeated Carlos Alcaraz within the quarter-finals to arrange a semi-final conflict vs Alexander Zverev. However after shedding the primary set vs the German, he withdrew attributable to harm and was booed by the Rod Laver Area crowd.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic hits a return towards Germany’s Alexander Zverev throughout their males’s singles Australian Open semi-final match.(AFP)
He was additionally in seen ache throughout his win towards Alcaraz, however was accused by followers, together with legend John McEnroe, of faking it to catch his opponent off-guard. In the course of the post-match convention, he revealed that he sustained a muscle tear, and in addition shared a photograph of his scan on social media. Later, ESPN analysed the picture and got here to the decision that he can be absent for a ‘couple months’ attributable to a torn hamstring, and will return to motion in Might, at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic to make early return
However now it appears like he’s set to make an earlier return and based on Sportal, Djokovic was in Belgrade final week, and acquired the mandatory remedy and remedy. The 37-year-old is reportedly feeling higher and has determined to make his comeback on the Qatar Open, though he hasn’t begun coaching but. He’s anticipated to journey to Doha to get used to the circumstances and put together for the ATP 500 event.
Djokovic hasn’t been in a position to win a single Grand Slam title since his victory on the 2023 US Open. Final 12 months, he solely bagged gold on the Paris Olympics.
There are additionally rumours that he may retire after this season. He additionally not too long ago revealed in an interview that he’s being pressured by his father to retire. Chatting with GQ Sports activities, he mentioned, “I feel like people are already writing my tennis obituary. The media, the fans… and I don’t know if he’ll like me saying this, but I’ll say it anyway: the first one doing it is my father.”
“My father has been trying to get me to retire for some time, but he hasn’t been insistent. He respects my decision to move forward and, of course, understands why I want to continue, but he says to me: ‘What else do you want to do?’ He understands the amount and intensity of the pressure and tension out there, and the stress that affects my health, my body, and consequently, everyone around me, including him. That’s why he told me: ‘My son, start thinking about how you want to end this,” he added.