MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic was forced to retire after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreak and immediately walked around the net to concede the match. As he exited toward the locker room, fans booed, prompting Djokovic to respond with two thumbs-up.
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The 10-time Australian Open champion and holder of 24 Grand Slam titles had injured his left leg during his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz.
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Zverev, the No. 2 seed, advanced to his first final at Melbourne Park, where he will face the winner of the second semifinal between defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy, the No. 1 seed, and No. 21 seed Ben Shelton of the United States.
Zverev has been a two-time runner-up in other major tournaments.
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The men’s final will take place on Sunday. In Saturday’s women’s final, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will aim for a historic third consecutive Australian Open title, facing Madison Keys of the United States.
