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A muscle tear in left leg ended Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday as he withdrew midway from his men’s singles semifinal match of the Australian Open 2025.
Novak Djokovic exited the Australian Open 2025 (AP)
Novak Djokovic has never been one to shy away from the mic or the spotlight. The 24-time Grand Slam winner once again took the opportunity to silence all those who doubted the Serbian’s injury at the Australian Open with a sharp response online on Saturday.
A muscle tear in left leg ended Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday as he withdrew midway from his men’s singles semifinal match of the Australian Open 2025. Djokovic, who was struggling with the injury, lost the opening set 6-7 in one-hour and 21 minutes to Alexander Zverev.
He was booed off the court when he quit right after dropping the first set against Zverev, an abrupt end to Djokovic’s pursuit of an 11th trophy at Melbourne Park and an unprecedented 25th major championship overall.
It was the second time in the past four Slams that Djokovic needed to abandon his spot in the latter stages of the bracket. At last year’s French Open, he tore the meniscus in his right knee during a fourth-round victory and withdrew before the quarterfinals, then needed surgery.
After having listened to all the criticism online, Djokovic clapped back by uploading a picture of an MRI of his hamstring, which showcases the injury in his hamstring, throwing the gauntlet out for those who doubted his injury.
“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there,” Djokovic wrote on his X post.
Djokovic’s opponent Zverev, who reached the third ever Grand Slam of his career, himself later asked the fans to not boo Djokovic who whose pursuit of a record 25th Major title came to an unfortunate end.
The German defended the 37-year-old pointing out his opponent’s incredible achievements.
Zverev will now face off against Jannik Sinner in the final tomorrow Sunday, as his hunt for a maiden Grand Slam continues.
