Novak Djokovic's shocking Australian Open retirement unexpectedly pushes Alexander Zverev into record books

The 2025 Australian Open semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev ended abruptly, as the Serb retired from the match at the end of a grueling first set. The Serb was attempting to reach a record 38th Major final, 11th in Melbourne.

Djokovic's fitness was a concern coming into the match, as he had taken a lengthy medical time-out in the match against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. The Serb had reportedly missed practice sessions in the buildup to the semifinal match to rest as much as possible.

The match against Zverev remained one serve throughout the first set, even though both players had break points but failed to convert. The tiebreaker went on a similar pattern with both players remaining strong on their serve. At 6-5, the German player was able to win the point as the Serb made an unforced error. The retirement from the Serb came soon after, advancing Zverev to the final.

This win gave the World No. 2 a unique place in the record books. Zverev became the second male player to both win and lose a Major semifinal via retirement. Back in 2022, the German had to forfeit his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open. On that occasion, the German had slipped during the second set, twisting his ankle and forcing him to retire from the match.

Oddly enough, Nadal was the other player in history to have this unique record. He retired in his 2018 US Open semifinal match against Juan Martin Del Potro.

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Alexander Zverev will look to win his maiden Major on Sunday

In Picture: Alexander Zverev (Getty)

Come Sunday, Alexander Zverev will be looking to achieve one of his significant career milestones by winning his maiden Major. The German player has often been touted as one of the best players who has yet to win a Major.

This will be the World No. 2's third Major final in his career. Previously, he had lost two Major finals at the 2020 US Open (lost to Dominic Thiem), and the 2024 French Open (lost to to Carlos Alcaraz). On both those occasions, the German had the lead but lost the matches in five sets.

The second seed will either face top seed Jannik Sinner or 21st seed Ben Shelton in the summit clash at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. Zverev has a positive record against both those players, leading the head-to-head rivalry 1-0 against Shelton and 4-2 against Sinner.