An injured Djokovic quits in Australian Open semifinal against Zverev

An injured Novak Djokovic quit because of a torn muscle in his left leg after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday.

Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off towards the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up.

“It was getting worse and worse,” Djokovic said later at his news conference, referring to the pain in his leg, which he hurt during his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night. “I knew, even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”

Djokovic was bidding for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall. He withdrew from last year's French Open before the quarterfinals after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.

The only set of Djokovic vs Zverev lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes and included 19 points that lasted nine strokes or more apiece. The first four games alone lasted 31 minutes.

It was gruelling—and would have been even without dealing with a problem with one's body. But Djokovic showed up with his left thigh taped up, a reminder that he finished the contest against Alcaraz that way after hurting himself late in the first set.