Is this the end of Novak Djokovic’s career? Doubts grow that tennis star can add to his 24 Grand Slam titles after injured ace is booed out of Australian Open

With the boos and whistles that greeted his premature departure from Rod Laver Arena doubtless still ringing in his ears, it was, said Novak Djokovic, too soon to contemplate the future.

Yet the questions surrounding what comes next for the 37-year-old, after he was forced to retire with a groin injury one set into his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev, are many and pressing.

It is only two years since Djokovic, overwhelmed with emotion, claimed a cathartic 10th title at Melbourne Park, celebrating raucously with his family and team after laying to rest memories of the previous year’s deportation drama. 

Yet, increasingly, it feels like an eternity ago. 

His powers of recovery are the stuff of legend, but for once Djokovic was unable to defy medical logic, unable to shake off the groin injury he suffered during his quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz, which had prevented him from practising in the two days before facing Zverev. 

And unthinkable though it may seem, the impression is growing that time and tide may finally be catching up with the Serbian superman. It is far too soon, of course, to dismiss the prospects of a player who has forged one of the greatest careers in the history of sport, yet his growing susceptibility to injury is undeniable.

There were jeers and whistles amid the applause for Novak Djokovic as he made his way off Rod Laver Arena after retiring against Alexander Zverev at Melbourne Park

The 10-time Australian Open champion was consoled by Zverev afterwards, with the German taking the crowd to task over their mixed reaction to the premature conclusion of the match

Djokovic, who cut a disconsolate figure in his press conference, refused to rule out the possibility that he had made his final appearance at Melbourne Park

Four years ago, Djokovic won in Melbourne while nursing an abdominal tear, while in 2023 he claimed the title despite playing the entire fortnight with a hamstring injury picked up in Adelaide before the tournament. 

Djokovic’s ability to defy clinical reason was magnified further last summer, when he clambered off the canvas, barely a month after undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee, to reach the Wimbledon final.

Yet that victory was over the best of three sets, and it is legitimate to wonder whether Djokovic, whose last grand slam win came at the 2023 US Open, still has the physical  durability to compile a run of seven straight best-of-five-set victories – as he will need to if he is to secure the 25th major that would pull him clear of Margaret Court, the Australian great with whom he currently shares the all-time record.

‘Injury is the biggest enemy of a professional athlete,’ acknowledged Djokovic after his latest setback. ‘It’s not like I’m worrying approaching every grand slam now,  whether I’m going to get injured or not.

‘But statistics are against me in a way in the last couple of years. It is true that [I’ve been] getting injured quite a bit [over the] last few years. 

‘I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that, maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going, I’ll keep striving to win more slams.’

In that regard, Djokovic finds himself at a similar juncture to Serena Williams, who won the last of her 23 majors at the 2017 Australian Open, but ultimately came up agonisingly short of equalling Court’s record, losing each of her last four grand slam finals.

Djokovic fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he won Olympic gold last summer, defeating Alcaraz in the final at Roland Garros only a few weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee

But Djokovic was unable to find a way past Alcaraz, left, three weeks earlier in the Wimbledon final, and he has faced a growing catalogue of injuries in the latter years of his career

Djokovic aggravated a knee injury against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo at last summer’s French Open and was forced to pull out of the quarter-finals before undergoing surgery

The stark reality for Djokovic is that, having also pulled out of last year’s French Open quarter-finals with a knee injury, two of his past four grand slam exits have come by dint of retirement or withdrawal. 

Djokovic will be painfully aware of that record, just as he will be increasingly alive to the danger posed by the young guard. 

Dominated by Jannik Sinner, the Italian world No 1,  for all but a set of last year’s Australian Open semi-final defeat – the first of his career at that stage of the tournament – Djokovic was then bested by Alcaraz in SW19 and overpowered by Alexei Popyrin in round three of the US Open, his earliest loss at a major since 2017.

Again, though, it would be foolhardy to write off a man who, time and again, has redefined the boundaries of the sport’s possibilities. 

As demonstrated by his shock decision to form a coaching partnership with former rival Andy Murray, who knows more than most about managing physical challenges late in a career, Djokovic’s appetite for further glory remains undimmed. 

What is less clear is whether he can still summon the physical fortitude to match a level that, as was apparent against Alcaraz, remains up there with the very best in the game. 

With that goal in mind, Djokovic hinted that he may pare down his commitments over the coming year.

‘I want to keep going,’ he said after retiring against Zverev. ‘But whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure.’

Djokovic won the most recent of his 24 grand slam titles at the US Open in 2023, drawing level with Margaret Court on the all-time list. It remains to be seen if he can eclipse the landmark

Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2023 despite suffering a hamstring injury on the eve of the tournament. But his celebrated ability to bounce back from injury appears to be waning    

How much wriggle room Djokovic has left in that regard is open to question. He has adopted a relatively light timetable in the twilight phase of his career – last season, he played just 10 individual events – and there seems limited scope to reduce his workload further.

With grand slams the priority, jettisoning the sunshine swing of Indian Wells and Miami could be an option, given that both are played on hard courts, and two majors that follow are on clay and grass. 

It also remains to be seen how much emphasis Djokovic will place on mounting a concerted challenge at Roland Garros given that, by his own admission, he typically requires more preparation time on clay to find his best level.    

If Djokovic is to eclipse Court once and for all, his best chance may come on the lawns of the All England Club, where an eighth title this summer would see him equal Roger Federer’s men’s record. 

Given the manner in which Murray departed the scene of some of his greatest triumphs last year, when a farewell mixed doubles campaign failed to come to fruition following Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal, a tilt at Wimbledon glory would be loaded with significance for both men.

Yet neither the continuation of his alliance with Murray – ‘We didn’t talk about the future steps [yet],’ said Djokovic – nor, it would seem, a return to the Australian Open, come with any guarantees.

‘I don’t know, there is a chance,’ said Djokovic when asked if he had played at Melbourne Park for the last time. ‘Who knows?’

As Djokovic looks to the future, it is merely the latest question to add to a growing pile.