Novak Djokovic Shockingly Retires After The First Set Of His Aussie Open Semifinal Match Against Alexander Zverev, Promptly Booed Off The Court

Cameron Spencer. Getty Images.

Stunning moment at the Aussie Open as Novak Djokovic just retired (quit) from his match against Alexander Zverev after just the first set of their semifinal clash. The two played a tight opening set that went into a tiebreak, but right after Zverev won the set Novak said no mas.

Djokovic was promptly booed off the court by some fans.

Obviously a huge bummer since that match was ticketed to be a marathon, but at the same time Novak was clearly not himself from the start. If Zverev had a clutch bone in his body he would have broken Djoker earlier in the set. That being said, the set went long and the moment he lost the set there was no way he was finishing the match. Still stunning to see it end immediately after the set concluded. Everyone in the building, including Zverev was shocked. Big question looms what happens if he wins that set? Novak says he probably tries to keep going, but it likely wouldn't had resulted in a different result. 

I imagine when Novak tried to practice before the match he knew he had no shot physically to finish this match. Reports from that practice claim he was out of sorts. Absolutely brutal for fans who paid a hefty penny to be there, but at least he gave them something? The booing is kinda bullshit when you realize what he's given to that tournament over the years, but again they paid good money to be there so they're naturally angry it ended like that. Shitty situation all around. 

Alexander Zverev now gets a free pass to the AO Final. He was pretty bad in the set and should have won it something like 6-3. A healthy Novak destroys him, but that wasn't the case. Barring a crazy upset he'll get Sinner in the Final and probably get waxed because Jannik is a fucking cyborg. 

It's a muscle tear for Djokovic. What grade is anyone's guess. He talked post-match about still possibly playing Doha in a few weeks so maybe it's not worst case scenario? Then again, it was bad enough to bow out of a slam semifinal. Either way, father time is in fact catching up to Novak and his time on tour is definitely winding down. 

P.S. Can't imagine how Carlos Alcaraz feels right now with the opportunity he let slip away by not beating Djokovic last round when the injury initially occurred. Obviously pain meds and adrenaline had him in a better spot than a few days later, but there's no reason he should have lost in the quarters there. 

P.P.S. Zverev for sure has his baggage, but in the moment during the on court interview he spoke really well and was very respectful towards Novak, asking the crowd not to boo.