"Novak Djokovic made his brand to associate with abusers" - Fans slam Serb for endorsing Alexander Zverev at Australian Open

Tennis fans criticized Novak Djokovic for backing Alexander Zverev to claim the 2025 Australian Open title. The Serb mentioned that he would be rooting for the German to secure his first Grand Slam title.

Zverev is seeded second at the Melbourne Major and had defeated Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round, followed by a victory over Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. He triumphed over Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and 14th seed Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

In the quarterfinals, the World No. 2 overcame 12th seed Tommy Paul 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1. He advanced to the final after his semifinal opponent, 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, retired from their match due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg after the first set, with the score at 7-6(5).

Following his quarterfinal match, during the post-match press conference, Djokovic stated that Zverev deserves to win his first Grand Slam title.

“Zverev deserves his first Slam. I will be cheering for him and hope he gets it here," Djokovic said.

Djokovic's remarks, endorsing Zverev to win the 2025 Melbourne Major, received backlash from several tennis fans, who took to social media to express their disappointment in the former World No. 1's comments and share their opinions.

One fan pointed out that Djokovic has a tendency to align himself with "abusers" in tennis, referencing previous allegations of domestic violence which were made against Alexander Zverev by two of his former partners.

“Why has he made it his brand to associate himself with all the abusers in tennis (wild that I had to use the plural for abusers)... majok ick," a fan posted.

Many other fans questioned Novak Djokovic's 'vehement' support for players with "questionable" reputations.

“F*ck this guy honestly and f*ck everyone who supports Zverev. What goes around comes around," a fan wrote.

“Why does he always support the *questionable* players so vehemently? Like at some point you have to just think like attracts like and it's very weird how he continues to publicly support people like these, especially his whole stint with nick this year was weird asf," a fan posted.

“Sod off. No one “deserves” a Slam. It’s down to performance on the day. And even then, Zverev’s antics off court sure mean he *doesn’t* deserve a major title," a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

“Ofc he’s cheering for a woman beater lmfao come on Novak," a fan posted.

“I guess I will never like him again," a fan wrote.

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Alexander Zverev will face Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in Australian Open 2025 final

Alexander Zverev at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Alexander Zverev will face the defending champion and top seed, Jannik Sinner or the 21st seed, Ben Shelton, in the final of the 2025 Australian Open.

Sinner began his campaign at the Melbourne Major by defeating Nicolas Jarry in the first round and overcame Australian wild card Tristan Schoolkate in the second round. The World No. 1 continued his winning streak by triumphing over Marcos Giron and 13th seed Holger Rune in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

In the quarterfinals, Sinner defeated the eighth seed, Alex de Minaur, to secure a spot in the semifinals where he faces Shelton. A victory in the semifinals will propel him to the final match against Zverev.

Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner have met six times on the ATP Tour, with Zverev winning four of those matches. Their most recent encounter was in the semifinals of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, which Sinner won 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4). He defeated Frances Tiafoe in the final to claim the title.

On the other hand, Ben Shelton secured his spot in the semifinals by defeating his compatriots Brandon Nakashima and Pablo Carreno Busta in the first and second rounds, respectively.

The former World No. 13 triumphed over the 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. He advanced to the quarterfinals after his fourth-round opponent Gael Monfils retired from their match due to a back injury. In the quarterfinals, Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego to secure his place in the semifinals.

Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton have only faced each other once on the ATP Tour, in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, which the German won 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.