Jannik Sinner is set to defend his title against World No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday in the finals of the 2025 Australian Open. While the Australian Open had many memorable moments, Novak Djokovic‘s mid-match retirement shocked fans.
And that’s precisely what Jannik Sinner commented on during his post-match conference. For the uninitiated, the 24-time Grand Slam title champion crashed out of the Australian Open 2025 after retiring mid-match due to an injury against Alexander Zverev in the first set. The injury in question is the one he sustained during the quarterfinal clash against young gun Carlos Alcaraz.
While addressing Novak Djokovic’s semi-final performance, Jannik Sinner backed up the Serb, stating how he believes that if he decided to retire, the issue must have been big. That’s not all; Jannik further went ahead to wish him a speedy recovery.
Jannik Sinner said, “I haven’t seen. I was warming up. I didn’t see it live. I saw after how it happened. It’s very unfortunate to see these kinds of things, especially in the semifinals of Grand Slams. But if Novak retires, it means that he has big issues.“
Continuing further, Sinner concluded, “He has won here in the past with some physical problems, and he always tried to do his best. He gave so much until now in his career for this sport. It’s unfortunate to see. I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Jannik Sinner is set to defend his Australian Open title for the 2nd time.
What happened to Novak Djokovic during the Australian Open semifinals?
When Zverev won the first set by 7-6, Novak moved towards the net and shook his opponent’s hands to retire mid-match.
The move, as expected, came as a big shock to his fans. Djokovic, who was carrying an injury from his quarter-final match against young gun Carlos Alcaraz, seemed a bit uncomfortable since the beginning of the match.
After trailing against Zverev in long rallies in the first set, Novak Djokovic decided to retire early and not worsen his condition to a greater extent. With this, Zverev will now take on the winner of the match between Ben Shelton and Jannik Sinner in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday.
This will be Alexander Zverev’s first Grand Slam title if he manages to outshine on the final day.