Novak Djokovic was carried off the court by some fans at the Australian Open after he was injured in his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic, who was bidding for a record 11th title, dropped out after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5).
The 37-year-old Serb had his upper left leg heavily taped in his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
“I did everything I could to manage the muscle tear I had,” said Djokovic, who was also aiming for the all-time standing record of 25 major titles.
“Toward the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more sore.
“It was too much for me to handle at the time.”
When he slapped a volley into the net on set point, seventh-seeded Djokovic immediately took the lead. Approached Xavier and shook his hand after 80 minutes of play.
He waved to the crowd and gave them a double thumbs up despite audible boos from parts of the Rod Laver Arena.
“I knew that if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge battle for me to be physically fit to stay with him for two, three, four hour rallies,” Djokovic added. Be fit enough.”
“I don’t think I had it in the tank today.”
German second seed Zverev is still bidding for his first Grand Slam title after losing twice in major finals.
In his first Australian Open final, he will face either top-seeded Italian Junic Singar or American 21st-seeded Ben Shelton.
