Physical battle: Injury ends Djokovic's campaign in Oz

The man who was the epitome of fitness is now increasingly battling frailty

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: Alexander Zverev was into his first Australian Open final. Before the celebrations could begin, though, a clarification had to be issued. "If he cannot continue a tennis match, it really means he cannot continue a tennis match," Zverev told spectators, stressing on the word "really".

Moments earlier, Novak Djokovic had walked off Rod Laver Arena, a court on which he soaked in 10 times over adulation reserved for champions, to a ring of boos.

Djokovic had just clipped the wings of a potential marathon after the first turn that went on for an hour and 21 minutes and into a tiebreaker. At no point through those long minutes and rallies did Djokovic's left leg, strapped after the injury from his previous match against Carlos Alcaraz, show any visible signs of stopping completely. And then, seemingly out of nowhere as he netted a simple volley facing set point at 5-6 in the tiebreaker, Djokovic walked up to Zverev and pulled the plug.