Alexander Zverev has never been in the final of the Australian Open. Now he moved into the final against the record winner – because the opponent suddenly left the field.
What a dramatic afternoon in Melbourne. In the eagerly awaited first semi-final between record winner Novak Djokovic and Hamburg’s Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, there were boos from the stands at the end on Center Court in the Rod Laver Arena. And they were aimed at possibly the best tennis player of all time: the Serbian Djokovic. The 37-year-old experienced a grueling and, for him, inglorious exit that day at Melbourne Park.
After an extremely balanced first set with many world-class rallies and an equally tight tiebreak in which the German tennis star Zverev had the upper hand, Novak Djokovic gave up. An injury prevented him from playing in the second set.
The spectators, who were still completely euphoric about what the two tennis artists had offered in the first round, did not initially understand what was happening. Only when the referee declared the match officially over did the audience realize that this spectacular duel would not be continued. It had only been played for an hour and a half, but only the first set was decided – that alone shows the intensity of the argument between the two opponents.
That’s probably why the disappointment in the stands was huge. The most successful tennis player in history in terms of titles even had the greatness to thank the audience and wave goodbye – even though loud boos rang out from the stands. Then the Serb disappeared into the belly of the stadium.
Afterwards he was disappointed by the negative reactions. When asked by Serbian journalists how he felt about the reactions in the packed Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic responded. He would rather not talk about it any further, politeness forbids that. It wasn’t hard to guess what else he would have said.
Zverev also defended his long-time opponent and “good friend,” as the Hamburg resident said. While still on Center Court, he asked the audience for their understanding. “Please,” Zverev said to the tennis fans in Melbourne, “do not boo a player who has just given up because of an injury.” He was convinced that Djokovic could no longer continue playing.
“I’ve seen him win tournaments with all sorts of injuries. Novak isn’t someone who just gives up. He’s done a lot for tennis over the past 20 years, please give him the respect he deserves.”
Djokovic confirmed the injury in the press conference. He suffered a torn muscle fiber in the quarterfinals against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. This also caused him problems against Zverev and ultimately prevented him from continuing to play. The ten-time Australian Open winner regretted his task.
Zverev had apparently already seen during the game what the spectators in the stadium could only imagine. He said on the TV channel Eurosport: “He may have moved a little slower between the rallies. But I thought he still got a lot of balls, he moved quite well. Difficult to say anything about it now.”
By giving up the Serb, Zverev reached a Grand Slam final for the third time. He had lost both of his previous finals at the US Open 2020 and the French Open last year. “Maybe it’s time for me to have a bit of luck in a final,” said the Hamburg native.