Would Novak Djokovic Have Retired if He Had Won the First Set Against Zverev?
The 24-Time Grand Slam Winner Had to Forfeit the Match Due to Injury After Losing the First Set In a Tiebreak
Injuries Take Center Stage
The legendary Novak Djokovic made tennis news after retiring upon losing the first set in his Aussie Open semifinal match with German star Alexander Zverev. But fans are wondering if he would have continued had the outcome been different.

Nole Answers Critics
Boos rained down on Novak Djokovic after he blasted a volley into the net to lose a 7-5 first-set tiebreak to semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev and abruptly retired after a dozen tennis games into the match. Djokovic was clearly laboring throughout the hour and 21-minute set with a left leg injury which ultimately proved to be his undoing.
Tried to recover for today’s match but I could only push so far. Nevertheless, positives to take out of this year’s Aus Open. Congratulations to @AlexZverev for making another GS final. I wish you to win the title because you deserve it, my friend 💪🙌 pic.twitter.com/BZPyQqPk6R
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 24, 2025
The betting odds favored the 10x Australian Open champion but the 37-year-old’s body was not up to the test.
“I didn’t hit a ball since Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match. I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had, medications and 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 too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
Djoker went on to answer the hypothetical question and tennis rumors that were on everyone’s mind, would he have continued if he won the first set?
“If I won the first set, maybe I would try a few more games, half a set, maybe a set. I don’t know. It was getting worse and worse.
“I knew even if I won the first set, that it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies, you know, for another God knows what, two, three, four hours.
“I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”
We hope to see Novak Djokovic return to the #AusOpen again next year 💙 pic.twitter.com/JyJ8BGJ0lm
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 24, 2025
Zverev Tells the Crowd What’s Up?!
The Australian Open schedule featured a compelling semifinal match between a talented 27-year-old and a bona fide legend in the twilight of his career. But unfortunately, the match never reached its destination after Djokovic’s unexpected retirement.
It is shocking that a 24x Grand Slam champion and the greatest player to ever swing a racquet would need to be defended by anyone, let alone his opponent, from a disrespectful few who booed and heckled him after his body would no longer allow him to persist.
Djokovic has not only been a force of nature throughout his two decades on the court but has also served the game as an elegant and cosmopolitan ambassador of it. This did not go unnoticed by his grateful opponent.
“Please, don’t boo a player when he goes out with an injury,” Zverev said in his on-court interview moments later. “You gotta understand that Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport for the past 20 years everything in his life.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear. He has won this tournament with a hamstring tear. If he cannot continue a tennis match, it means that he cannot continue a tennis match. So, please, be respectful and really show some love towards him.”
Zverev on some of the crowd booing Djokovic after retiring from Australian Open
“Please guys don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury. I know everyone paid for tickets.. but Novak has given everything of his life to the sport the last 20 years”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2025
The Australian Open results after the semifinal matches show No. 2 Alexander Zverev taking on No. 1 Jannik Sinner.