Novak Djokovic exits Melbourne to boos as Jannik Sinner sets up Alexander Zverev final

Novak Djokovic retired injured from his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday and left the court to boos with defending champion Jannik Sinner to face the German for the title Topranked Sinner blew past Ben Shelton 76 72 62 62 in the second semifinal in Melbourne to set up a meeting between the Italian and second seed Zverev The Rod Laver Arena crowd jeered Djokovic who played with a heavily taped leg when he called it a day after losing a gruelling first set against Zverev leaving his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam crown in tatters Zverev on some of the crowd booing Djokovic after retiring from Australian OpenldquoPlease guys donrsquot boo a player when he goes out with injury I know everyone paid for tickets but Novak has given everything of his life to the sport the last 20 yearsrdquopictwittercomfaY33oKgk5mdash The Tennis Letter TheTennisLetter January 24 2025The 37yearold Serbian great shook hands after going down 76 75 and said he had been hampered by a muscle tear Djokovic hinted that he may have played his last Australian Open There is a chance Who knows Djokovic said when asked if he may have graced the Melbourne Park courts for a last time I normally like to come to Australia to play Ive had the biggest success in my career here So if Im fit healthy motivated I dont see a reason why I wouldnt come he added Djokovic has now gone five Grand Slams without winning the title he needs to surpass Margaret Courts 24 and become the alltime leader In the other semifinal Sinner had to save two set points in a tight opening act that lasted a marathon 71 minutes and he suffered in the latter stages after long rallies against his highoctane American opponent I had some tension today slightly cramps Sinner admitted But he was also suffering today a little bit in his legs So I tried to move him around tried to stay a little bit more aggressive which today helped a lot Once Sinner grittily snared the opening set on a tiebreak he took only another 85 minutes to win the next two sets against 22yearold Shelton For three sets Two and a half hours is quite a time So happy to finish today in three the Italian said But you know as I said Im very happy to be back in the finals and then we see what is coming SundayIt is unclear what the immediate future holds for Djokovic a 10time Melbourne champion who had been ominously warming to the task before injury struck I actually thought I played really well as well as I played the last 12 months he said of his run to the last four I liked my chances if I was physically fit and ready to battle Sinner is on the cusp of a first successful Grand Slam title defence after winning his maiden major crown in Melbourne last year He had won the last four of his five career meetings with Shelton The Italian was not at his best in the opening set dropping his serve twice and having to dig deep to save two set points with Shelton serving at 65 But the 23yearold easily took control of the tiebreak to move a set ahead He broke Shelton right at the start of the second and ran away with it The American raised himself for one last effort in the third lashing running forehand winners in an attempt to turn the tide Sinner was not moving freely by now but he saved two break points and when Shelton then dropped his serve to go 32 down the Italian upped the ante and sprinted to the finish line on the back of some unreturnable ground strokes The final will be a battle of the top two seeds with Zverev in his first Australian Open final The German has been a Grand Slam runnerup twice before at last years French Open and the 2020 US Open but has never lifted one of the big four majorsWith AFP inputs