Novak Djokovic Gives Honest Reaction To Being Booed After Australian Open Retirement
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Novak Djokovic doubts that the fans who booed him after he retired from his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev want to understand him.
Fans inside the Rod Laver Arena were undoubtedly buzzing before the highly-anticipated semifinal between Djokovic and Zverev. It was the Serbian's 50th Grand Slam semifinal, a remarkable statistic even for someone as great as him.
Unfortunately, Djokovic retired in the first set of the match because of a muscle tear in his leg. The opening set was a brutal 82-minute affair, and the 37-year-old felt he could not continue after losing it on a tiebreak.
That retirement was followed by controversial scenes when some fans inside the stadium booed Djokovic as he left the court, angered that they only got to watch one set after paying for tickets.
It is important to note that most of the fans did not boo. Zverev received widespread cheers when he defended Djokovic and told those who booed that they should show more respect to a tennis legend.
Djokovic was asked about the booing in his press conference after the match. The ten-time Australian Open champion tried to be balanced about the issue but admitted he was unsure if those fans wanted to understand him.
"I don’t know what to say. People have come, they paid for the tickets expecting a great match and a big fight, which they didn’t get. From that perspective, I can understand. I am doing my best to understand them, but I am not sure whether they understand me or if they even want to understand me."
The former ATP world No. 1 has spoken many times about how much being in tune with his body means to him. That makes Djokovic confident that he knew when the right time to retire was.
"I know how my body works, what I feel, and I know how much I’ve given to this tournament in the past 20-plus years. I will stop here, so that I don’t continue (speaking) in the wrong direction."
While Djokovic remained diplomatic in his remarks, it is evident that being booed after everything he has achieved at the Australian Open hurt. That was why he stopped himself from saying something that might generate worldwide headlines.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has previously stated that only his injury issues get questioned. An example to illustrate Djokovic's point was John McEnroe telling fans not to be fooled when he struggled physically against Alcaraz.
It could be argued that Djokovic does not receive the benefit of the doubt in the same way as his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did because of the universal love they received, which contrasts with how Djokovic has often been treated over the years.
His retirement against Zverev proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he was not exaggerating the injury. Hopefully, this will teach some fans and analysts to be more respectful and not make unsubstantiated claims about players trying to fool their opponents.
