Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic says he suffered a muscle tear during his four-set quarterfinal triumph over Carlos Alcaraz, which ultimately forced him to retire from his semifinal match Friday.
The muscle tear in his left leg forced Djokovic to retire after one set against Alexander Zverev, who will face top-seeded Jannik Sinner in the men’s final on Sunday. Djokovic was booed off the court, drawing admonishment from Zverev who called for fans to show some respect.
‘I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had,’ Djokovic said after the match. ‘Medications and the 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. It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment.
‘I knew even if I won the first set it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.’
Djokovic,37, said he is unsure how long he will be out of competition and declined to say if this will be his last tournament in Australia. The next Grand Slam tournament is the French Open in Paris, which starts May 25.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is also slated to compete in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, starting Feb. 17.
‘When I go back home to Europe I will get together with the medical team and my physios and try to understand what we can do and the quickest way to recover and get back on track,’ Djokovic said.
‘I still have Doha tournament in a few weeks’ time that is scheduled. Whether I’m going to play that or not, it really does depend on how quickly I recover. It just depends on the muscle and how it responds to the treatment.’