Novak Djokovic makes two-word admission after retiring from Australian Open

Boris Beckerformer tennis champion

I have never questioned the severity of @DjokerNole injury!”

Becker tweeted

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,

the German told Eurosport

The very first thing I want to say is please don't boo when a player is injured,

He said ... said Zverev in his on-court interview

I was not winning tournaments any more,

Zverev said about talking to Djokovic in Shanghai

People will probably start asking if I’m working for Tennis Australia,

she said

Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury ‘experts’ out there,

he wrote

I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,

Djokovic said at his news conference Friday

Jannik Sinnerchampion

I think we should stop blaming Novak,

said Zverev who faces Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled.”

Referring to Djokovic’s history, McEnroe, during the quarter-final match between Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, had commented

To be honest, I haven’t seen these comments so I can’t say more,

Djokovic stated

Please guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,

Zverev said in his on-court interview

We didn’t talk about the future steps [yet],

said Djokovic -

I’ll keep going. I’ll keep striving to win more Slams,

Djokovic said

There is a chance. Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes. ... If I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come.”

He wasn't quite prepared to commit to returning to the Australian Open, either, when asked if this might have been his last appearance, saying

Jannik Sinnerchampion

Novak has done absolutely everything he could on the tennis court in the last 20 years,

said Zverev, who will be seeking his first Grand Slam title when he meets defending champion Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final at Rod Laver Arena

He’s won this tournament with an abdominal tear, where most players can’t even continue playing. He’s won this tournament with a hamstring tear,

Zverev said

Don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury. I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see a great five-set match, but you gotta understand Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life,

Zverev said in his on-court interview

Towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain, and it was too much to handle for me at the moment. So, yeah, unfortunate ending, but I tried,

Djokovic said

I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see hopefully a great five-set match,

he said

I knew, ... even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”

Djokovic said