In the joy of reaching the final at the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev also mixed trouble. He found clear words for some of the spectators.
Alexander “Sascha” Zverev left no doubt as to what he thought of dealing with his opponent after his task at 6: 7. At the press conference after the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the 27-year-old from Hamburg made it clear once again what he had said in the Rod Laver Arena immediately after the strange game. In his opinion, Novak Djokovic did not deserve to be booed by parts of the audience.
Zverev afterwards threw himself into the breach for the 37-year-old Serbs. “Please,” said Zverev to the tennis fans in Melbourne, “I am not boosing a player who has given up because of an injury.” And further: “I know everyone has paid money and everyone wants to see a great match, but Novak Djokovic has given everything to sport in the past 20 years. Please show him some love.”
He later emphasized that the audience’s reaction surprised him. “Incomprehensible to me,” said Zverev. “At some point, people also have to understand what this man did and what he brought to sport.” For those who whistled and boo, the German tennis star was ridiculed. “Many people can’t get out of bed at the age of 37.”
In contrast, Zverev referred to the grandiose achievements of the record champion from Serbia. “He is the only tennis player in the story that has won every important tournament. Therefore: leave him alone.”
The German was celebrated by the international press, but also by commentators on social networks. His speech was a highlight and a role model on fair play, the tenor said. Djokovic also seemed to have noticed that Zverev had campaigned for him. “He deserves his first Grand Slam title. I will cheer him on, hopefully he can do it,” said the Serb.
Zverev, on the other hand, was proud that Djokovic keeps his fingers crossed for him. “That really means a lot to me when someone as he says”. The two know each other for a long time and are friends with each other. The German reported in the interview on the pitch, immediately after Djokovic’s task that the record player was someone you could always rely on. “You can call it every time if you have a problem. He will help you,” said Zverev.
After the match, Djokovic himself had told reporters that he couldn’t train until an hour before the match – and then only had twenty minutes to warm up. Together with his physiotherapists, he tried to get the injury under control. He had entered the Center Court with a bandage on the left thigh. “I really did everything to control the muscle fiber tear, but towards the end of the first sentence the pain got worse and I noticed that it made no sense to continue playing.”
Zverev also indicated the difficult relationship that Djokovic has not only has in Australia with the audience. At the fifth continent in particular, Djokovic had caused negative headlines in early 2022 when he had an exceptional permit in the middle of corona apandemy as an unvaccinated player, but had been unreigned to Australia, but was then established by the authorities.
Not only Djokovic ‘family intervened with pithy statements, Serbian politicians also sensed an Australian conspiracy against their national heroes. The Causa Djokovic mutated into a diplomatic scandal between the two countries within days. After that, the tablecloth between the record winner at the Australian Open and the Australian fans first seemed to be cut. But in the past two years he has won the hearts of the audience. It is all the more astonishing that they are now boosing it.