[Novak Djokovic. Photo credit to Pixabay]

At the 2025 Australian Open, Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev on Friday, January 24th, due to a persistent hamstring injury. 

The tournament, which began on January 6th, saw Djokovic displaying remarkable resilience throughout his early matches. 

His journey to the semifinals included victories against Nishesh Basavareddy, Jaime Faria, Tomáš Macháč, and Jiri Lehecka, demonstrating his characteristic dominance by winning most sets decisively.

The first signs of trouble emerged during his quarter-final match against Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz on January 21st.

Despite losing the first set, Djokovic staged an impressive comeback, winning the next three sets to advance.

However, observers noted him applying taping to his upper left leg near the conclusion of the first set.

The situation deteriorated during his semifinal match against Zverev.

Despite entering the court with similar taping on his upper left leg, Djokovic found himself unable to continue after a tense first set, prompting his withdrawal from the tournament.

The departure was met with disappointment from the crowd, who expressed their frustration through boos.

In his post-match media conference, Djokovic explained,  "I did everything I possibly could to manage the muscle tear I had." 

He further elaborated that the injury progressively worsened during play, acknowledging that even if he had won the first set, continuing would have been extremely challenging.

Zverev came to Djokovic’s defense, addressing the crowd during his interview with Nine’s Jim Courier.

“Please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with an injury,” the German player urged.

“While everyone paid for tickets and hoped to see a great five-set match… Novak Djokovic is someone who has given to this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.”

Zverev later revealed that he had noticed Djokovic struggling during the tiebreaker in the first set, and expressed his profound respect for his opponent, stating that there was no other player in the tournament he respected and admired more than the Serbian champion.

Before his withdrawal, Djokovic had displayed his fighting spirit throughout the tournament.

His path to the semifinals included impressive victories, beginning with his January 13th match against Basavareddy, where he recovered from losing the first set to win the next three.

He continued his successful run against Portugal’s Faria on January 15th, securing victory in three out of four sets. 

His dominance was particularly evident in his matches against Czech player Macháč on January 17th and Lehecka on January 19th, where he won both matches in straight sets.