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Novak Djokovic bows out of Australian Open semifinal due to injury

Australian Open: Alexander Zverev moves to the final as Djokovic ends his challenge after injury at the quarterfinal impacted Friday's game

Novak Djokovic hits a return against Alexander Zverev during their men's singles semifinal match | AFP

Novak Djokovic conceded the Australian Open semifinal to Alexander Zverev on Friday due to injury, delaying his journey to his 25th Grand Slam title.

After Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) to Zverev after it went to a tiebreaker, the Serbian proceeded to concede the match. Djokovic injured his left leg in the quarterfinal match, where he prevailed on Carlos Alcaraz.

However, as he walked to the locker room, the crowd was filled with boos. Djokovic responded to it with two thumbs-up.

Djokovic responds to the audience as he exits the court | AFP

With the Serbian bowing out, the number-two-seeded Zverev will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between defending champion Jannik Sinner (Italy) and Ben Shelton of the US. This would be the German's first final for the title. Before this, he was a two-time runner-up at other major events.

The Australian Open men's final is scheduled for Sunday. In the women's final on Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) will attempt for a hatrick Australian Open title when she goes against Madison Keys of the US.