Just disappointing! World No. 7Novak Djokovic had to withdraw from the ongoing Australian Open semi-final because of a muscle tear in his left leg after just playing one set against his opponent, Alexander Zverev. Had Novak won his 50th Grand Slam semifinal, he would have had a chance at his 11th Australian Open and 25th Grand Slam title. Did anyone anticipate such an end for Novak at his fortress? Absolutely not! Certainly not the ex-American professional Andy Roddick who expressed his sadness about Nole’s withdrawal.

The 37-year-old Serbian had an excellent AO tournament this time around after his utterly disappointing 2024 Grand Slam run. Losing just 3 sets until the SF, Novak beat everyone with ease, including his QF opponent Carlos Alcaraz. However, during that QF, the Serbian suffered a muscle tear in the first set, where the Spaniard was winning 5-4. He needed to take a medical timeout after which he came out with his left leg heavily strapped. He showed his class by winning the match despite losing the first set. However, the injury was so concerning that he didn’t even have a training session until one hour before his SF match yesterday. Following Djokovic’s withdrawal from the semis after just one set, the former US Open winner Andy Roddick shared his remarks.

Speaking on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast, the American said, “Disappointing! you never wanna see anyone walk off because their body gives out and because they feel like they can’t play anymore, especially in a three to five set format but that’s what happened in Alex Zverev and Novak Djokovic match. Bit of a dicey first set. No breaks. Novak looked okay at times, compromised at times. Zverev wins the first set and then you asking yourself can I actually play a minimum of three more physical sets?”

Continuing further, Roddick added, “Novak didn’t waste any time, listen he’s either hurt or he’s not so people are seem to be making a big deal about him not calling the trainer and just walking right around but that part doesn’t bother me. I don’t need the ceremony of trainer walking out, pressing around and really not doing much. I mean if there’s an injury, there’s an injury. I’m not sure what the trainer does in that scenario.”

Novak himself was disappointed right after the match as he revealed the reasons of his sudden retirement after the first set 6-7 (5-7). In his post-match press conference, the Serb maestro remarked, “Well, I didn’t hit the ball since Alcaraz’s match so until an hour before today’s match. Yeah, I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had and yeah medications and I guess the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today but towards the end of the first set I started feeling more and more pain and it was too much to I guess to handle for me at the moment.”

As Djokovic is now out of the tournament, his SF opponent and No.2 seed Alexander Zverev will face the World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s heavyweight final clash Down Under.

But do you think this was the first time Novak faced fitness issues in AO? The answer is no! Previously, though, he powered through the matches despite the pain.

‘he had a three-centimetre tear in his hammy’ – Novak’s AO triumph despite injuries in 2023

Battle with injuries is not new for the Serbian, at least at the major Grand Slams. Context? Well, 2023 AO! He survived an injury 2 years back Down Under but came victorious to win his 10th AO title. However, the story didn’t start at the AO; it emerged at a pre-tournament warm-up event. 

Novak participated in the 2023 Adelaide International tournament, just before the Happy Slam of that year. However, playing there, he suffered a hamstring stretch, leading into the AO. But you can’t underestimate Novak Djokovic, can you? He fought with the injury throughout the tournament and came victorious in the final after beating the then-ATP 3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. And, as he finished the slam, the director of AO Craig Tiley spoke about Novak’s injury to SEN Sportsday.

“This guy I did see, he had a three-centimetre tear in his hammy. Absolutely (I saw the scans), the doctors are going to tell you the truth. There was a lot of speculation about whether it was true or not, it’s hard to believe that they can do what they do with those kinds of injuries. He’s remarkable, to deal with it extremely professionally,” Craig revealed. Not only Tiley, but even then coach of Novak, Goran Ivanisevic expressed the same sentiments after the Serb battled through the pain.

“Let me put it like this. I don’t say 100%, but 97% of the players, on Saturday when you get the results of the MRI, you go straight to the referee’s office and pull out of the tournament. But not him. He gave everything… Every day was kind of better and better. I didn’t expect this. Okay, first two rounds okay, but then against (Grigor) Dimitrov I was very scared. But he got through and in the end, he won the tournament,” Goran told the reporters.

After a tough 2024 season with zero Slams, Novak’s SF run in the AO had given hope to his fans. But after his withdrawal from the semis, the title drought continues. Do you think Novak Djokovic will emerge victorious in one of the remaining three Slams this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.