Alexander Zverev has advanced to the Australian Open final after ten-time champion Novak Djokovic withdrew due to injury. Zverev won the first set of their semifinal clash 7-6(5), before Djokovic retired.
The Serbian tennis player's left thigh was bandaged after he injured it during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz, which Djokovic won in four sets. The first set of the match against Zverev was closely contested, with the German holding a slight game advantage but missing five break points while Djokovic converted three chances to break his opponent. This led to a tiebreak, in which there were no mini-breaks until 6-5 for Zverev, when he converted the set point and took the lead in the score.
Then Djokovic decided that he could not continue the battle. Thus, the 27-year-old Zverev qualified for his first final in Melbourne and his third in a Grand Slam. He still does not have a Slam title, after losing the finals of the US Open in 2020 and Roland Garros in 2024.
In Sunday's final, Zverev will meet last year's champion Yannick Sinner or American Ben Shelton. For his part, Djokovic is eliminated in the semifinals for the second year in a row, after being stopped by Sinner in the same phase in 2024. | BGNES
