Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Friday January 24, 2025 at 8:01 am
Touched in the left thigh from his quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic could only hold one set against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. After losing it in the tie-break, the Serb preferred to abandon. The German will therefore play his first final in Melbourne, against Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton.
In 2021, Novak Djokovic had managed to win the Australian Open despite a tear in the abdominals, and he had given it two years later despite a tear to the hamstrings. 2025 will not allow him to do the same. Wounded in the left thigh, the Serb was not able to go after his semi-final to Melbourne against Alexander Zverev. The German player won the first set in tie-break (7-5), and his opponent then decided to throw in the towel. On Wednesday and Thursday, the man with 24 Grand Chelem tournaments had not trained, and that was obviously not a bluff. He has suffered from his quarter -final against Carlos Alcaraz, where he had to call on the physiotherapist during the first set. The Serb had entrusted after the match that if he had lost the second set after losing the first, he would probably not have continued. Faced with Alexander Zverev, the new protégé of Andy Murray did not experience signs of weakness at the start of the match, but as the set progressed, he showed more difficulties in his trips.
The latest Australian Open of Djokovic?
He managed to save three Break balls at 1-1, then missed three on the next game, and the two players finally had to decide in the tie-break. A decisive game in which Djokovic led 5-4, before losing three points in a row, the last on a completely missed easy Smash. And while few people expected it, the Serbus joined the net to shake hands with his opponent, who therefore qualified for the final after only 81 minutes spent on the court. Novak Djokovic left the court under a few whistles, which Alexander Zverev asked to stop. At a press conference, the 37-year-old Serbian, who had never seriously talked about retirement until then, said that there was “a chance” that it was his last Australian open. His number of victories in Melbourne will therefore probably stop ten. For Alexander Zverev (27 years old), it will be a third Grand Chelem final. In great shape since the end of last season (victory at the Rolex Paris Masters, semi-final of the Masters), the world n ° 2 will aim for its first victory, after its failures at the US Open 2020 (against Dominic Thiem) and during the Last Roland-Garros (against Carlos Alcaraz). It will be against Jannik Sinner (4-2 in his favor in confrontations) or Ben Shelton (1-0).
