New Delhi: Former World No. 1 Boris Becker has clarified that he never questioned Noak Djokovic’s injury that forced his pull-out midway in his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic was criticised after he retired from his last four clash after dropping the first set in a tie-breaker at the Rod Laver Arena. He was booed as he thanked the crowd at exited the court.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had sustained a muscle injury during his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, which made him unable to continue against Zverev though many remained unconvinced.
Becker has coached Djokovic for three years and speaking to Eurosport before the sem-final clash, the German had warned compatriot Zverev of being wary of Djokovic’s on-court resilience, pointing about how Djokovic recovered from injuey to beat Alcaraz in the semis.
‘All about click-bait’
Becker insisted to have been misquoted or been a victim of poor translation of his words from German to English and claimed to have still got a soft spot for the Serb.
“I have never questioned the severity of @DjokerNole injury! Probably someone did wrong translation from German into English… Schatzi is family for me since 2013 !It’s all about the click-bait these days and not about facts! @AustralianOpen @Eurosport_DE,” Boris’s post said after the semi-final.
I have never questioned the severity of @DjokerNole injury!
Probably someone did wrong translation from German into English…
Schatzi is family for me since 2013 !
It’s all about the click-bait these days and not about facts!@AustralianOpen @Eurosport_DE— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) January 25, 2025
“Novak has been through it all. No one has played more Grand Slam matches, no one has won more Grand Slams. He really has experienced everything you can experience on the tennis court.
“Sascha has to stick to his game and show his strengths – his serve, his baseline strokes and his fitness. He mustn’t let himself be put off his game, whatever his opponent does,” he told Eurosport ahead of the semi-final.
Zverev won the opening set deciding tie-break 7-5 before Djokovic shook hands with to withdraw from the contest.
Novak Djokovic was criticised after he retired from his last four clash against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
