Alexander Zverev and John McEnroe have called out fans that booed Novak Djokovic in ‘depressing’ scenes at the Australian Open.
The Serbian star was forced to retire with a torn hamstring after losing the first set on a tie-break against Zverev in Friday’s semi-final on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic had skipped practice for two days running due to his injury after he overcome Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in an epic quarter-final clash on Tuesday.
But after 80 gruelling minutes against Zverev, ten-time Australian Open champ Djokovic, who had his upper left leg heavily taped, could handle the pain no longer.
He walked away after losing 7-6 (7-5) in the opener, with some fans loudly jeering the 37-year-old after being informed of his decision.
It was a reaction that stunned seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe, who failed to contain his disgust when speaking on commentary for Channel Nine.
He said: “They can’t possibly be booing him. Please! He’s won this ten times, for God’s sakes. Unreal.”
The American later added: “He’s won this ten times. I mean, come on. I mean, clearly something was up. The guy is a battler.
“I mean, him and Rafa [Nadal] have dug deeper than any two players I have seen.
“So to do that [boo] because he decided that he couldn’t go on after what he’s done here I thought was absolutely ludicrous, honestly.
“That was almost as depressing as seeing the end of the match.”
Meanwhile Zverev showed his class in his interview on court as he implored those booing to show Djokovic some respect.
Zverev was quick to call out the fans over some of their shocking behaviourGettyThe German, who will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or America’s Ben Shelton in Sunday’s final, remarked: “The very first thing I want to say is please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with an injury.
“I know everyone paid for tickets and everyone wants to see hopefully a great five-set match.
“But Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.
“He has won his tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring tear, if he feels he can’t continue a tennis match, he can’t continue a tennis match.
“So please guys, be respectful. Show some love for Novak as well.”
Djokovic revealed in his press conference that he would have likely been forced to retire even if he had won the first set against Zverev.
No tennis player in history has won more Australian Open titles than Djokovic’s tenGettyHe stated: “I didn’t hit the ball since Alcaraz match until like an hour before today’s match.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and I guess the (tape) 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 and it was too much for me to handle.
“Unfortunate ending, but I tried. It was getting worse and worse.
“I knew even if I won the first set, that it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that today in the tank.”
While Djokovic faces some time out to recover, Zverev will be hoping it’s the third time lucky as he looks to finally win a Grand Slam having reached his third final.
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