Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Ben Shelton of the U.S. in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday. (AP)
World No 1 Jannik Sinner said he didn’t the end of the first semifinal live but expressed his concern for Novak Djokovic as the Serbian star had to retire hurt against Alexander Zverev. Sinner prevailed against Ben Shelton in the second semifinal later in the day to set up a title clash against world No 2 Zverev.
“I was warming up. I didn’t see it live. I saw after how it happened,” Sinner said in the press conference. “It’s very unfortunate to see these kind of things, especially in semifinals of Grand Slams. But if Novak retires, it means that he has big issues. He has won here in the past with some physical problems, and he always tried to do his best. He has given so much until now in his career for this sport. It’s unfortunate to see. I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Ben Shelton of the U.S. in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne. AP Photo/Vincent Thian
“Tried to recover for today’s match but I could only push so far. Nevertheless, positives to take out of this year’s Aus Open. Congratulations to Zverev for making another GS final. I wish you to win the title because you deserve it, my friend,” Djokovic posted on his social media account.
Sinner is now the youngest man since Jim Courier in 1992-93 to reach consecutive finals at the Australian Open. It was Courier who conducted the post-match interview with Sinner on Friday.
Watch Sinner’s chat with Courier here:
Earlier in the day, in his post-match interview also with Courier, Zverev also condemned sections of the crowd for jeering Djokovic, who has dominated the year’s opening Grand Slam since winning his first trophy at Melbourne Park in 2008. “The very first thing I want to say is, please guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev said. “I know everyone paid for tickets and everyone wants to see hopefully a great five-set match. But … Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life. He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring injury. So please show some respect.”
Zverev on Friday had said he was also surprised by Djokovic’s retirement but noted the Serb’s movement had fallen away in the tiebreak. “I thought it was a high-level first set,” the world No 2 added. “Of course there are some difficulties … in the tiebreak he was not moving. I did see him struggle a bit more.”
With Reuters inputs
