“I’m not sure if they even want to understand me” – Djokovic dismayed by crowd reaction after injury retirement

Novak Djokovic was booed off the court by a disrespectful section of the Rod Laver Arena crowd after the Serb was forced to retire with injury having lost the first set 7-6 (5) to Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Djokovic hurt his hamstring in the win over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals and he missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday.

As the10-time Australian champion explained in the English part of the press conference, the pain was worsening as the match went on and he “didn’t have another two, three, four sets in the tank.”

Later, the Serbian press asked Djokovic to comment on the boos from the crowd.

“I don’t know what to say. People have come, they paid for the tickets expecting a great match and a big fight, which they didn’t get. From that perspective, I can understand. I am doing my best to understand them, but I am not sure whether they understand me or if they even want to understand me,” he said.

“I know how my body works, what I feel, and I know how much I’ve given to this tournament in the past 20-plus years. I will stop here, so that I don’t continue (speaking) in the wrong direction,” he added, with a wry smile.

During his match with Alcaraz, former world No 1 and ESPN pundit John McEnroe said of Djokovic’s injury: “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled.”

Asked to comment on this, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said: “To be honest, I haven’t seen these comments, so I can’t say more. What I can say is that it’s always easier to judge and criticise than to understand. It’s a lesson I’ve learned in life.”

Djokovic contested his 50th Grand Slam semi-final, but he will look for another opportunity this year to make his 38th major final.

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