Injured Djokovic Booed After Australian Open Withdrawal
The Facts
Novak Djokovic was forced to put ambitions of winning his 25th Grand Slam title on hold — a feat that would make him the winningest tennis player of all time — after withdrawing from his semi-final matchup against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open on Friday.
Although the 37-year-old Serbian has won the tournament a record 10 times, he was met with a chorus of boos when the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena learned that an injury forced him to retire after losing the first set of action.
Djokovic picked up the leg injury during his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night — an encounter that lasted over three-and-a-half hours.
The Spin
Narrative A
Djokovic needs no reminding that he's closer to the end of his career than the start and that injury is the biggest enemy facing any professional athlete. However, the competitor has bounced back from a number of previous knocks, and if anyone can secure that feat of 25 Grand Slams, no one is better qualified.
Narrative B
The oldest player to win a Grand Slam title was Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37 years, one month, and 24 days. Djokovic is already beyond that mark, and the chances of him adding one more slam to his belt at this stage look rather uncertain.
