Novak Djokovic retires hurt from Australian Open: Has he played his last in Melbourne? Says, ‘There’s always a chance, but…’ | Tennis News
It’s the Grand Slam where Novak Djokovic has had the most success over the course of his professional career, but after walking out of the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Friday, the Serb wasn’t a 100% sure if he’d be back one more time. The 10-time Australian Open champion remained coy about his future as a torn muscle ended his quest for a horic 25th Major and a record-extending 11th title Down Under.
Is there a chance this could have been his last appearance at Melbourne Park? “I don’t know. There is a chance,” Djokovic said in the post-match press conference. “Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes. I want to keep going. But whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure. I normally like to come to Australia to play. I’ve had the biggest success in my career here. So if I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come. But there’s always a chance, yeah,” Djokovic, who had his wife and kids Tara and Stefan present in the stands this year, said. Later, however, he did add that as long as he is able to put up with all this strife on tour and still feel capable of challenging for the Slams, he will continue playing.
Djokovic said he had quit the semifinal because of a torn muscle in his left leg after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev. He lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. The set had already lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes and included 19 points that lasted nine strokes or more apiece. The first four games alone lasted 31 minutes.
About the injury, Djokovic said he wasn’t aware how long this is going to keep him out of action, but thought he could manage it through the rest of the tournament, like he had done a few years ago with an abdominal tear (when he went on to win the Slam).
“It was getting worse and worse,” Djokovic said referring to the pain in his leg, which he hurt during his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night. “I knew, even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”
Djokovic withdrew from last year’s French Open before the quarterfinals after tearing the meniscus in his right knee. Is it a concern that it has now happened twice within one year? “How much of a worry is it? I don’t know. It’s not like I’m worrying approaching every Grand Slam now whether I’m going to get injured or not, but statics are against me in a way in the last couple of years.So it is true that, you know, getting injured quite a bit last few years. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that, you know? Maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going. You know, I’ll keep striving to win more slams. And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic had finished the contest against Alcaraz that way after hurting himself late in the first set, and had said he might not have continued playing that match if he had lost the second as well. “I didn’t hit the ball since Alcaraz match until like an hour before today’s match,” Djokovic said Friday. “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and I guess the taping, 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 for me to handle. Unfortunate ending, but I tried,” the 37-year-old said.
Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded giving two thumbs-up. The German world No 2 condemned the fans for jeering too, calling to show respect to Djokovic.
(With AP inputs)
