Djokovic says ‘there is a chance’ this is his Melbourne swansong
Serbia's Novak Djokovic acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the court after retiring from the men's singles semi-final against Germany's Alexander Zverev. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Imageswas booed off the court by some sections of the Rod Laver Arena audience when he sensationally retired hurt from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev on Friday after losing the first set.
“Medications, and this strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today, but towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain, and it was too much to handle for me at the moment. So, yeah, unfortunate ending, but I tried.”Australian Open tournament director says rowdy crowds not a problemDjokovic addressed the booing from some sections of the crowd in comments to Serbian media: “People came here, bought a ticket, expected a battle and they’re not satisfied.
When he was asked whether this was his last Australian Open, the 37-year-old was non-committal. “I don’t know, there is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” he said. After an announcement saying the match was over, Djokovic walked off the court amid of chorus of boos from some sections of the crowd, who had paid hundreds of dollars for tickets. Djokovic raised his arms and gave two thumbs-up gestures.
“I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see, hopefully, a great five-set match and everything. But you’ve got to understand, Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport, for the past 20 years, absolutely everything of his life.” Djokovic said although he doesn’t know whether he will be back in Melbourne, he feels like he played his best tennis of the past 12 months against Alcaraz. “It’s not like I’m worrying approaching every grand slam now whether I’m going to get injured or not, but statistics are against me in a way in the last couple of years,” he said.
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