Australian Open: Tennis legends hit out at Melbourne Park’s boos for Novak Djokovic after semifinal shock

The tennis world has reacted in shock to Novak Djokovic’s sensational retirement just one set into his semifinal blockbuster with Alexander Zverev. It comes as the 10-time champion concedes he may have played his final Australian Open, saying after the game he had no idea what his future looked like. In the most dramatic moment of an Australian Open where he has dominated the headlines, Djokovic came to the net and shook hands with Zverev after losing the opening set of their Rod Laver Arena clash on Friday. It ended the star’s battle with a soft tissue injury that had also plagued him during an epic five-set victory over Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in Wednesday night’s quarter-final. Zverev — who was also left stunned by Djokovic’s withdrawal — has walked through to his third grand slam final, where he will take on the winner of Friday night’s match between Ben Shelton and world No.1 Jannik Sinner. The retirement comes just days after Djokovic boycotted a post-match interview with host broadcaster Channel Nine over an on-air gaffe by veteran sports reporter Tony Jones where he mocked Serbian fans. And it is the end of a tournament Djokovic began by airing bizarre claims he was poisoned on a previous trip to Australia. The most decorated Australian Open player in history was booed off centre-court after conceding defeat in a moment slammed by tennis greats. He had netted an attempted volley and waited at the cord to shake hands with Zverev after the 7-6 set defeat. It appeared to be a pre-meditated move to submit if he lost the first stanza. Former Australian player John Millman lashed the crowd for the disrespectful act. “This is a guy who has won it 10 times, have some respect,” he told Nine. “He is one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest to play, he is definitely the greatest to play on this court. “I don’t care how much you have spent on your ticket, have some respect.” Zverev used his on-court interview to challenge the crowd on their behaviour. Ticket prices at Rod Laver Arena have been in the spotlight this week, with some seats left empty during high-profile net sessions because of prices pushing towards $400. “I know everyone paid for tickets and everyone wants to see hopefully a great five-set match,” Zverev said. “Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport — for the past 20 years — absolutely everything of his life.” Australian women’s singles great and respected analyst Jelana Dokic said she had no doubt Djokovic was seriously injured because the Serb is notorious for playing through pain. “If he decided that he couldn’t play, he really couldn’t play. He really had to be injured,” she said. American legend John McEnroe also hit out at the Melbourne crowd. “He’s won this 10 times. I mean, come on. Clearly something was up. The guy is a battler, him and Rafa (Nadal) have dug deeper than any two players I have seen,” he said. “So to do that because he decided that he couldn’t go on after what he’s done here I thought was absolutely ludicrous, honestly. “That was almost as depressing as seeing the end of the match.” Zverev said he thought Djokovic had played well during the first set — which went for almost an hour-and-a-half — and was as surprised as onlookers when he reached out his hand in retirement. “I actually thought it was quite a high-level first set,” he said. “But of course, there are some difficulties and the longer you continue playing then maybe it gets worse. “In the tiebreak, maybe he was not moving as well as in the entire first set but I thought we had extremely long rallies, extremely difficult, physical also rallies.” Djokovic told reporters post-match he hopes he hasn’t played in Melbourne for the final time. He said he had a hamstring tear and, while he may have played on had he won the opening set, conceded he could not have continued for four or five hours. “It was going to be a huge uphill battle for me. It was getting worse and worse,” Djokovic said. The 37-year-old said it was similar to the hamstring injury he nursed while winning his 10th Open title two years ago, after which he revealed a 3cm tear. Djokovic’s future remains unclear. Turning 38 in May, he had been bidding to win an unprecedented 25th grand slam singles crown at Melbourne Park, having been level with Margaret Court on 24 since the 2023 US Open. Now the super Serb admits he doesn’t know how long he will take to recover, when he will return to the court or if he will even be back at next year’s Open. “I don’t know. There is a chance (I won’t be back),” Djokovic said. “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, (that I won’t return).”