PrashantNews
Tennis great Novak Djokovic’s dream of winning his 25th Grand Slam title hit a roadblock on Friday after he retired with a muscle tear in a semi-final match against second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Australian Open at Melbourne.
Zverev reached his first Australian final after Djokovic quit the match losing first set 7-6. Djokovic left the match to a mixture of boos and applause.
Djokovic needs one more Grand Slam title which would see him break his current tie on 24 with Margaret Court. In the quarterfinal, Djokovic had defeated Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic (37) on Wednesday made history by surpassing tennis legend Roger Federer to record most Grand Slam matches. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist played his 430th Grand Slam match against Jaime Faria in the ongoing Australian Open and defeated him 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 to enter third round.
Djokovic also became the second player after legendary Serena Williams to register 150 major wins after turning 30.
The question that the tennis lovers are now asking is about the seriousness of the muscle injury he suffered against Zverev. “
“There is a chance. Who knows,” Djokovic said when asked if he may have graced the Melbourne Park courts for a last time. However he quickly added: “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.”
Djokovic has now gone five Grand Slams without winning the title he needs to surpass Margaret Court’s 24 and become the all-time leader. Last Slam he won was the US Open in 2023.