‘Absolute Bummer for the Fans’ – Novak Djokovic’s Unfortunate Australian Open Withdrawal Sparks Honest Reaction From Ex-Pro

Novak Djokovic‘s shocking Australian Open exit has sparked numerous reactions by now. The 24-time Grand Slam winner decided to retire midway in the SF encounter against Alexander Zverev on Friday at Rod Laver Arena. Suffering from a painful hamstring injury, the 10-time AO king couldn’t stay on the court for long and left after losing the first set, 6-7, in a tie-break. With that, his opponent Alexander ‘Sascha’ Zverev entered in his first-ever Melbourne Major final. Former ATP pro-Steve Johnson has now shared his thoughts, calling Djoker’s decision “an absolute bummer”.

Djokovic had skipped his practice sessions on Wednesday and then Thursday ahead of the semifinal. It was a sign of worry for his fans already. After winning the QF round against Carlos Alcaraz, the Serb hinted that his hamstring injury might not be manageable. “I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically,” he said during a post-match press conference. He wanted “to assess the situation” moving forward. As it turned out, the situation was probably worse than he thought, costing him his chance of claiming Slam number 25.

In an episode of the Nothing Major podcast, dated January 25, ex-pro Steve Johnson expressed disappointment for Djoker’s avid lovers following his retirement. “Yeah, an absolute bummer for the fans. It’s tough because we as athletes, I would say a vast majority of us kind of like to keep things kind of close to the chest, you know, injury-wise. We like to kind of downplay things.”

Continuing further, Johnson mentioned that most athletes usually prefer to not reveal their physical struggles publicly. “But I think this must be a pretty serious injury for Novak,” he remarked.

Per Johnson, Djokovic’s sudden retirement after the first set was tricky “because I don’t think Sascha (Zverev) even thought it was a possibility or Novak misses that volley and just kind of puts his head down, is walking to the bench. And you can see he’s a bit surprised when Novak starts walking over to him.”

After the former World No.1 decided to leave the court, he was met with a negative reception. A section of the crowd booed him for withdrawing. But then his opponent and World No.2 Alexander Zverev came to his defense.

Rival Alexander Zverev defends Novak Djokovic’s retirement from Australian Open semifinal

Following a distasteful reaction to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal at Rod Laver Arena, Alexander Zverev took a commendable stand. Urging the fans to stop mocking the Serb, the 2024 ATP Finals semifinalist said, “The very first thing I want to say is, please guys don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury. I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see, hopefully, a great five-set match and everything. But you’ve got to understand, Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.”

Djokovic also had something to say about his withdrawal in the post-match press conference. “I don’t know what to say. People have come, they paid for the tickets expecting a great match and a big fight, which they didn’t get. From that perspective, I can understand. I am doing my best to understand them, but I am not sure whether they understand me or if they even want to understand me,” the Serb said.

In the QF round of the Australian Open, Djokovic took a medical time-out due to extreme pain in his leg. He couldn’t move properly and was struggling to cover the court in the early stages of the match. But after the second set, it seemed as if nothing happened to him at all. He went on to win the third and fourth sets easily. After his MTO incident, many fans assumed that he was faking his injury. However, that wasn’t the case as he was struggling with a muscle tear.

Now Djoker’s hardcore followers will only wish one thing for him – a speedy recovery. The maestro needs to achieve one more milestone in his career that has lasted over two decades. He’s looking to get past Margaret Court’s 24 Slams tally. Currently, they both are leveled in the all-time list.

There are three more Majors left this season and the former World No.1 will have his opportunity to get to his target. But it will only happen once he’s back on the court fit and fine. How soon do you think Djokovic will return? Let us know in the comments below.