Tennis Star Djokovic Forced to Retire in Australian Open Semi-Final
Novak Djokovic's bid for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and 25th major championship ended abruptly when he retired injured during his semi-final match against Alexander Zverev. The 37-year-old Serb, with his upper left leg heavily taped from a muscle injury sustained in his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, lost the first set 7-6 (7-5) before withdrawing from the match. "I did everything I possibly could to manage the muscle tear," Djokovic explained. "Towards the end of the first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle." After slapping a volley into the net on set point, Djokovic approached Zverev, shook his hand, and waved to the crowd with a double thumbs up. Some sections of Rod Laver Arena responded with audible boos. "I knew even if I won the first set, it […]