Novak Djokovic pulls out of Serbia's Davis Cup tie against Denmark due to injury sustained at Australian Open
Updated 29/01/2025 at 08:07 GMT
Novak Djokovic was forced to retire from his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev due to injury and will now miss Serbia's Davis Cup tie against Denmark with the same issue. He suffered a hamstring problem while pursuing what would have been a 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Miomir Kecmanovic, Hamad Mededovic and Laslo Dere will be Serbia's singles players in the tournament.
Watch shock moment Djokovic retires injured against Zverev in 'great shame'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Novak Djokovic will miss Serbia’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark due to the same hamstring injury that led to him retiring from his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
The 24-time Grand Slam was booed by sections of the crowd in Melbourne after making the decision to end the match early.
Speaking after the match, Djokovic said: "I did everything I possibly could do to manage the muscle tear that I had.
"Towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle for me."
Zverev - who went on to lose the final against Jannik Sinner - was critical of the spectators who booed, and urged them to "be respectful".
Djokovic did not show immediate frustration to the crowd’s reaction, but later posted a photo on social media which showed the scan of his injured hamstring.
The caption said: "Thought I'd leave this here for all the sports injury 'experts' out there."
Djokovic’s injury means Serbia will be without their star man for the first-round qualifying tie against Denmark, which starts on January 31.
The team features Miomir Kecmanovic, Hamad Mededovic and Laslo Dere, as well as doubles specialists the Sabanov brothers, Matej and Ivan. Dusan Lajovic is also missing through injury.
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Speaking about Djokovic’s absence, Serbia captain Viktor Troicki said: "We are weakened by not playing Novak, but we are still going for the win.
"The Danes have a great player in Holger Rune, but our players are also great and I believe in my team."
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