NEW DELHI: Novak Djokovic‘s quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title was cut short due to an injury during his Australian Open semi-final match against Alexander Zverev on Friday.
The Serbian star, who had his upper left leg heavily taped following a quarter-final injury, retired after losing a hard-fought first set 7-6 (7/5) to his opponent.
As Djokovic walked off the court towards the locker room, fans expressed their disappointment by booing, to which he responded with two thumbs-up.
The injury to his left leg, which he sustained during his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz, proved to be too much to overcome.
Zverev, the No.2 seed, will now face the winner of the second semifinal between defending champion Jannik Sinner and American Ben Shelton in his first Australian Open final.
The German has previously finished as a runner-up in two other Grand Slam tournaments.
The men’s final is scheduled for Sunday, while the women’s final on Saturday will feature a clash between Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka and American Madison Keys.
Sabalenka is aiming to become the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.