Novak Djokovic’s aborted semifinal points to the sheer toll of lasting 7 best-of-5-sets matches to win a Slam, at 37 | Tennis News

If Novak Djokovic’s cunning, commanding quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz served as a reminder of how much tennis is still left in him, his tame exit from the Australian Open served as a reminder of the size of the challenge that lies in front of him and his 37-year-old body to continue to win the biggest tournaments in the world.After losing a tiebreaker 7-6 (5) following a gruelling 80-minute set in the searing Melbourne afternoon heat on the Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic was forced to retire from his semifinal against Alexander Zverev. The German World No. 2 will now play his third Major final in search of a first Grand Slam on Sunday.
Djokovic may be the master of winning Grand Slams, but now in the twilight of his career, he faces a serious mental and physical challenge to deal with the sheer toll of playing seven best-of-five-sets matches across a fortnight.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
With power-hitting baseline play – the brutal force with which the ball is returned into one’s court on every ball players like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – now becoming the norm on the men’s tour, sustaining his level, maintaining fitness, and completing recovery will be the big challenge for the all-time great who inches closer to 40, to extend his haul of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Having sustained a left leg injury during his quarterfinal, Djokovic had cancelled all training sessions in the buildup to the semifinal. Throughout the patchy, low-quality set, while not looking obviously compromised, he looked far from producing the dazzling shotmaking of his clash with Alcaraz.
Instead, it had become a war of attrition from the baseline, and the Serb, while not at his best, looked razor sharp, bailing himself out of trouble with impressive serves and returning well. The first signs of him feeling out of the contest came in the loose tiebreaker he played, which he ultimately lost netting a simple put-away volley and then folding for the rest of the match.
Djokovic explained his decision to retire, and the extent of his injury, a muscle tear, later in his press conference. “Towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried,” he said, according to the ATP Tour.
The Serb was downbeat and even hinted at the possibility of this being his last appearance at the Australian Open – where he is the record 10-time champion: “It depends on this season.”
Djokovic has played through injury, famously, in Melbourne Park before. The Serb won the season-opening Major in 2021 with an abdominal tear, and again in 2023 with a minor hamstring injury.
Last year, midway through the French Open, the 37-year-old had injured his knee and had to rush into knee surgery to ready himself for Wimbledon, during which he admirably reached the final, but was far from his best.
Sustaining the burden of Grand Slam tennis and a gruelling tennis calendar had been Djokovic’s hallmark. But as the years roll , the punches sting more. While his latest injury may have been more serious than initially feared, it is a telling reminder of the difficulties of playing through pain and recovery from injury for an elite tennis player in their late 30s.
“It’s a muscle tear. Two years ago, I have managed it better. On the court it didn’t bother me as much. This time that wasn’t the case,” Djokovic said.
“It is true that (I have been) getting injured quite a bit (the) past few years. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that,” he added. “Maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going. 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.”
It’s the latest hurdle, the latest layer of intrigue, that the enthralling GOAT must overcome in the final years of his fascinating career.