‘I’m trying to understand them’: Djokovic bows out amid boos and cheers

Novak Djokovic said he understood the disappointment of the fans who jeered him after the tennis legend’s quest for an 11th Australian Open title came to a painful end with his forced semi-final retirement.

The former world No.1, revered for his physical and mental resilience, brought his showdown with No.2 Alexander Zverev to an abrupt finish after losing a marathon 81-minute first set, prompting a mixture of boos and cheers as he farewelled Rod Laver Arena and Melbourne Park possibly for the last time.

“I don’t know what to tell you. But, people came here, paid for the tickets and expected a battle, and they didn’t get it,” Djokovic told Serbian media after the match.

“If you look at it that way, I understand. At least I’m trying to understand them. I don’t know if they understand me or wish to understand me. I know what’s in my body, what I feel, how much I gave of myself to this tournament in the past 20 plus years. Now I’ll stop, so I don’t continue down the wrong path.”

Speaking at his press conference, Djokovic said Australia “will always stay in my heart”. The 37-year-old took the court with a heavily strapped left hamstring and explained that he had not practised until just before the match, having sustained the injury during his quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz.

After Djokovic dumped a regulation forehand volley into the net to hand Zverev the first set tie-breaker, he walked to the net and congratulated the German for reaching his first Australian Open final. The Serb’s pursuit of a 25th grand slam title was over and Rod Laver Arena was in shock.

“Well, I didn’t hit a ball since [the] Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match,” he said.

“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Yeah, 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, yeah, too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment.

“[An] unfortunate ending, but I tried.

“I cannot throw away all the incredible memories and results and achievements that I have achieved here over the years, just because this year, you know, I retired in the semi-finals.”

Djokovic refused to rule out a return to Melbourne Park.

“There is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes. I want to keep going. But whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure,” he said.

“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.”

Multiple players have criticised crowd behaviour at this Australian Open, and commentators who witnessed the reaction to Djokovic’s exit expressed horror at the way he was treated by some fans.

“The crowds [this tournament] have been questioned a lot, and rightly so,” former Australian player and Nine commentator John Millman said.

“I just think it’s a bit of a shambles – some of it has crossed the line and that one takes the cake for me. This is a guy who has won it 10 times, have some respect. He’s one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest. He’s definitely the greatest to play on this court. I don’t care how much you’ve spent on your ticket, have some respect.”

Fellow Nine pundit John McEnroe could not believe the crowd reaction.

“He’s won this tournament 10 times, I mean, come on! I mean, clearly something was up,” McEnroe said.

“To do that [boo] because he decided he couldn’t go on after what he’s done here I thought was absolutely ludicrous. Honestly, that was depressing ... that was almost as depressing as seeing him end the match.”

Djokovic has not won a grand slam since the 2023 US Open but declared a 25th major was still within his powers.

“I’m satisfied with the matches. As the tournament went on, I played better and better,” said Djokovic, who arrived in Melbourne in a blaze of controversy by declaring he still felt traumatised by his treatment in 2022, when he was deported over his vaccination status.

He was at the centre of another controversy this week, boycotting an on-court interview with Channel Nine after veteran sports reporter Tony Jones offended the Serbian great with a chant described by Djokovic as insulting. Jones later apologised to the tennis player and to Serbian fans, describing his comments as “banter”.

Djokovic’s opponent on Friday, world No.2 Zverev, paid tribute to the Serbian after his withdrawal and said he deserved more respect than he was granted by unruly sections of the crowd.

“I know that everybody paid for tickets there, and hopefully gets to see a great five-set match,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.

“But you’ve got to understand Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.

“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear. He has won this tournament with a hamstring tear.”

“Please be respectful.”

Zverev will play the winner of Friday night’s semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton in Sunday night’s final.

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