'Shocked' Boris Becker reacts to 'brutal' Novak Djokovic injury retirement in Australian Open semi with Alexander Zverev

Eurosport expert Boris Becker has labelled Novak Djokovic's retirement during his Australian Open semi-final as a "brutal thing" for the Serb, as he bowed out prematurely against Alexander Zverev on Rod Laver Arena. The world No. 7 was chasing an 11th title in Melbourne, but was forced to quit early after he had lost the first set tie-break 7-5, putting a routine volley into the net.

'It was a big shock for everyone' - Reaction to Djokovic's injury retirement

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Eurosport expert Boris Becker has called Novak Djokovic's retirement during his Australian Open semi-final a "brutal thing" and has questioned where the 24-time Grand Slam champion goes from here.

Djokovic, the seventh seed in Melbourne, was chasing an 11th title 'down under', and a 25th major crown, but he struggled with a muscular tear in his left leg that he had sustained during his thrilling four-set victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.

The Serb previously revealed exclusively to Eurosport that he had considered retiring against the Spaniard in the last eight, but fought on through the pain barrier to produce an outstanding display and set up an encounter with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the last four.

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Both players were error-strewn throughout the one and only set in the first semi-final on Friday, but it was clear that Djokovic was struggling physically, and Zverev took full advantage in the tie-break to take it 7-5.

Becker, who won the Australian Open title twice, said it was clear that the Serb was not fully fit.

"I'm still a bit shocked," the German said. "You could see that he wasn't 100% fit. The rallies were too short and the choice of his shots was unusual.

"The fact that he then gave up after losing the first set, that's sport. That's the brutal thing. He wasn't fully fit against Alcaraz, he had two days off. The question was, did he train? But he was still injured and couldn't play to the end.

"We [with commentator Matthias Stach] were both speechless, which never really happens to us. I thought he would be able to continue playing the match. But that's sport. He was weakened. He then also said that he hadn't played at all for two days, which isn't good either.

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"Age doesn't stop for Novak Djokovic either. He was totally down. I rarely see him like that. He hates having to give up, he's a perfectionist. He talked about a torn muscle fibre - you're out for two or three weeks. I wonder how he could even play with that anyway."

Becker, who coached Djokovic for three years between 2014 and 2016, questioned where Djokovic goes next, and whether he continues with new coach Andy Murray.

Djokovic himself threw his future at the Australian Open into doubt, admitting that there was "a chance" he had played his last match at the calendar year's opening Slam.

"The question is, what's next for him?" Becker asked. "Where is he going? This question is always very difficult to answer after a disappointing defeat. You have to face the world public, but that's a side you have to survive as a tennis pro.

"Will he continue with Murray, which I hope? What are the next tournaments? It's all going through his head now. That was the best tennis I've seen from Novak since the Olympic Games last summer. The draw was also difficult. The match against Alcaraz was first-class.

"Now the question is: Where is the path going? I hope he goes forward and keeps going, but these are difficult moments for Djokovic."

Fellow Eurosport pundit Barbara Schett said everyone was "a bit shocked" around Melbourne Park after watching Djokovic's retirement, while Laura Robson spoke of her surprise after not seeing any indication that the 24-time major champion would retire mid-match.

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"It was a big shock for everyone," Schett said.

"It happened so abruptly. It was a tight first set. Maybe, Djokovic wasn’t moving as well as he could have, but he lost the tie-break and suddenly went to the net. Sasha Zverev didn’t know what was going on. It came by surprise. We know that Novak has fought through injuries before at the Australian Open many times before. That injury must have been too big.

"What was unusual about it, and why we weren’t worried about something like this happening today, is because we always see him taking it easy the day before a big match," Robson added.

"Even though he wasn’t on-site for the last two days, that, for us, is nothing new to hear, and to see him not on the practice schedule is also nothing new. He went out and practised this morning, apparently looking a little bit flat. It looked like he was limping as he walked off the court.

"Clearly, he’s not feeling good on that leg. It’s always quite challenging, because even when he’s in pain he still moves well and there’s always a chance that he’s going to dig these kinds of matches out and find a way to win. But it was too much today."

Djokovic says 'there's a chance' he's played last Australian Open after injury retirement

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In the Eurosport studio, Tim Henman and Mats Wilander were of the opinion that Djokovic will return to the top table of men's tennis, but will perhaps need to alter his schedule and pay more consideration to his age and physical condition.

"In the context of what he’s trying to achieve, when is his next important tournament?" Henman said.

"You could say it’s Roland-Garros. He’d like to play some others, because he has to keep match practice to a certain extent and keep his ranking for the seeding, but in terms of what he’s trying to achieve, he’s got plenty of time to make sure that his body is 100%, because it needs to be 100% to compete at the very highest level. The reality is is that it’s not going to get easier because of his age.

"As you get older, we all appreciate that the body doesn’t quite recover as quickly as it once did. When you focus on his level of tennis, it’s right there. He played an incredible match against Alcaraz, so it’s very disappointing for him that this match finished in these circumstances, and disappointing for all the fans that love to watch it."

Djokovic forced to retire injured in semi-final against Zverev - Australian Open highlights

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"I think he will definitely come back and manage his schedule," Wilander added.

"He will probably play 10 or 11 events. He’s playing great, so I’d be very surprised if he’s not going to be threatening at the other three Slams, especially at Wimbledon. It’s worrying, at his age, because recovery from injury should take a bit longer the older you get."

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