Novak Djokovic retired hurt due to a torn muscle in his left leg after losing the first set of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic left Rod Laver Arena to a chorus of boos after dramatically pulling the plug on his final four clash against the world No 2, having barely lost a competitive opening set in a tie-breaker 7-5.
As the 37-year-old walked off toward the locker room, he stopped, turned around and responded by giving two thumbs-up to the crowd.
There had been doubt about the record 24-time Grand Slam champion’s fitness after he suffered a left leg injury during his four-set triumph over Carlos Alcaraz which ran late on Tuesday night.
Djokovic did not practice on site on Wednesday then cancelled a session on Thursday, warming up only shortly before the match.
“I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic told reporters after his semi-final retirement.
“Medications, the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today. But towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. (Skynews)