“It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment,” Novak Djokovic said on his hamstring injury that forced him out of 2025 Australian Open. On Friday, tennis fans were eager to witness an epic showdown in the semifinal of men’s singles at Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic was expected to reign supreme over Alexander Zverev. However, after just one set, where the German beat him 7-6(5), the 10-time AO king retired and said goodbye to Melbourne for this year. As expected, Djoker’s decision has attracted numerous reactions. One of his top rivals and World No.1 Jannik Sinner has now shared his thoughts on the Serbian’s walkover.

In the second semifinal of the major down under, Sinner went on to beat American Ben Shelton. The 22-year-old did trouble him in the opening set, pushing it into a tie-breaker. But the Fox didn’t let the situation go out of his grip. The three-time Grand Slam winner eventually entered in his second straight Australian Open final with a score line of 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2. During the press conference, he was asked to comment on Djokovic’s shocking withdrawal. He confessed that he didn’t watch that match as he was warming up, but got to know later what happened in it.

Sinner said, “it’s very unfortunate, you know, to see this kind of thing, especially in semi-finals of grand slams. But you know if Novak retires, means that he has, you know, big issues. He has won here in the past with some physical problems and he always tried to do his best, you know, he gave so much in until now in his career for this sport.”

For the unversed, the Serbian has suffered from serious injuries at the Australian Open in the past well. But he overcame his pain and clinched the event twice on such occasions.

First, in 2021, he won the major down under battling an abdominal tear, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. The second time he defied his physical problems was in 2023’s edition. Despite having trouble in his left leg, he steered his way to a 22nd Slam. The former World No.1 beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final with a score line of 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

Moreover, Sinner expressed a sweet gesture towards the Serbian. Sending him an emotional message, he said, “I wish him speedy recovery.” Speaking more of Djoker, he had a lot to say after his walkover from the semifinal against Alexander Zverev. Especially regarding the crowd that booed him.

Novak Djokovic reacts to booing at Rod Laver Arena upon his withdrawal

So what was the reason behind the crowd jeering him? Well, Novak Djokovic had injury issues in his previous match as well. In the QF battle against Carlos Alcaraz, he had to take a medical time-out (MTO) in the initial stages of the match. He couldn’t move properly before the third and fourth set. Hence, he took a treatment and after that; he looked a completely different person. It seemed he didn’t even have an injury in his leg in the first place! To put it simply, it vanished like magic, according to fans.

Even his quarterfinal opponent and four-time Major winner Alcaraz had some interesting reactions to his pre and post-MTO performance. Without actually raising questions on Djokovic, he said, “I’m not saying he put on a show, but in the second set he looked in trouble, and in the third and fourth I didn’t see anything. I think everybody saw in the second set he was struggling a little bit (with) moving.”  And the outcome of this entire incident was seen during the semifinal on Friday.

The moment Novak Djokovic decided to leave the court due to his hamstring injury, a section of the crowd booed him. His opponent Zverev, who eventually got the ticket to the final, had to intervene. Urging the fans to stop, he said, “The very first thing I want to say is please don’t boo when a player is injured. I know everyone paid for tickets, but Novak Djokovic is someone who has given everything to the sport.” But what did the Serbian have to say?

In an official post-match conference, on Friday, he revealed, “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.” Adding to his statement, he said, “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.”

Djokovic’s avid followers will want him to recover soon. After all, he’s got a major target to accomplish this season. To clinch Slam number 25 and move past Margaret Court in terms of winning most major singles titles in history. Three Grand Slams are still left in 2025. Will he be able to reach his desired milestone this year? Only time will tell.