Millman on the whistles for Djokovic: "Have respect for him".

Le 24/01/2025 à 16h03 par Adrien Guyot

The first semi-final of the Australian Open was supposed to be a battle, but in the end it was not.

After a hard-fought first set between Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, the Serb, who had just lost in the tie-break, was forced to retire with a leg injury.

As he left the court, Novak Djokovic was applauded by the majority of the crowd, but a few whistles also came from the Rod Laver Arena stands.

Former professional tennis player John Millman, a consultant for Australian television, spoke about this highlight of the first Australian Open semi-final.

"It was a bit of a mess in the stadium, with some people clearly out of line. During this Australian Open, some people's behavior was inappropriate, but this one took the cake.

Novak Djokovic is a player who has won this tournament ten times. Show him some respect. He's one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest.

In any case, he's undoubtedly the greatest player ever to set foot on Rod Laver Arena. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter how much money you spent to see him play. Have some respect for him," he concluded.

Tbh federer or nadal wouldn’t have retired

He quit after a tie breaker playing at a high level vs #2 in the world, he just looked tired, but no grimace in his face, no limping. What happened to the big heart? And the painkillers that he used with Alcaraz ? I wouldn’t say he was leaving his heart out there.. more like giving the finger to the public that always booed him no matter how many grand slams he won in Australia. .

While Novak isn't my favorite either, (I didn't like the "recovery" he had against Alcaraz), he certainly has earned more respect than being booed at the Slam he has been most successful at winning 10 times.

Perhaps that's why he's still playing and they are not.