Match ReportSerbian retired after Zverev claimed first set
January 24, 2025
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Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Alexander Zverev after retiring from their Australian Open semi-final on Friday. By ATP Staff
Alexander Zverev advanced to his first Australian Open final after Novak Djokovic retired following the first set of their semi-final showdown on Friday in Melbourne. Immediately after he lost a 7-6(5) opening set, Djokovic shook the hand of the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, sending the German through to his third Grand Slam final. Seeking his first major crown, Zverev awaits Jannik Sinner or Alex de Minaur.
Struggling with a muscle tear in his upper left leg, Djokovic pushed Zverev throughout a one-hour, 21-minute opening set but could not battle on any longer after he missed a volley on set point. After overcoming his injury in an inspired quarter-final performance against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic was clearly limited against Zverev despite keeping the scoreline close.
“I actually thought it was quite a high-level first set,” Zverev said when asked by Jim Courier if he noticed his opponent’s struggles. “But of course there is some difficulties and the longer you continue playing, then maybe the worse it gets. In the tie-break, he was maybe not moving as well as in the entire first set. But I thought we had extremely long rallies, extremely difficult, physical rallies. In the tie-break I did see him struggle maybe a bit more.”
A Grand Slam finalist at the Australian Open for the first time ♥️
Take it all in Sascha 💫#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/T58pPNLJF9
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 24, 2025
Djokovic fought off five break points in the opening set, according to Infosys Stats, while creating three break chances of his own at 1-2, 0/40. The tie-break went entirely on serve until the final point, when the Serbian netted a routine volley with the court open.
The 37-year-old pushed through discomfort in many of the punishing baseline rallies, but appeared to conserve his energy on certain points, particularly on return. He played with full intensity in the tie-break, but was moving gingerly in between points despite matching his opponent point for point until the final ball.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic said after his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title and 100th tour-level singles trophy came to an abrupt end. “Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today. But 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.
“Yeah, unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
Zverev, now 5-8 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Djokovic, is through to his third major final after coming one set short of glory at the 2020 US Open and last year at Roland Garros. His three Grand Slam final appearances tie Michael Stich for second-most among German men in the Open Era, behind Boris Becker‘s 10.
More to follow…
