"We got glimpses of peak vintage Novak Djokovic" - Andy Roddick 'disappointed' about Serb's Australian Open retirement

Andy Roddick expressed disappointment over Novak Djokovic's unexpected retirement during the 2025 Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev. Roddick believes the Serb was showing signs of his 'peak' in the past few matches in Melbourne.

The first set saw both players deliver an intense performance, with Zverev winning via a tiebreaker. However, shortly after, Djokovic retired without calling for a trainer, simply hugging Zverev before leaving the court.

On his podcast, Roddick narrated a gist of the match and noted that a trainer could not have helped the situation.

"I mean, if there's an injury, there's an injury. I'm not sure what the trainer does in that scenario. I mean, if there's an injury, there's an injury . I'm not sure what the trainer does in that scenario," Roddick said.

Furthermore, the American voiced his disappointment, believing they were witnessing a 'peak' form of the World No. 7 in a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2023 US Open.

"Disappointing, because I think that was the first time the last three matches that we've seen Novak in full flight. Obviously won the Olympics, looked great there, but in a Grand Slam, since he won 2023 US Open, I think this is the first time we got glimpses of kind of vintage peak Novak," he added.

Djokovic had been dealing with injury concerns throughout the tournament, even reportedly missing practice the day before the crucial semifinal. Despite this, he took to the court at Rod Laver Arena to face Zverev on Friday, January 24.

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Novak Djokovic opens up about the injury that led to his mid-match retirement against Alexander Zverev in Australian Open 2025 SF

Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic answered the burning questions during his post-match press conference at the Australian Open after retiring from the semifinal against Alexander Zverev. He revealed the status of his coaching relationship with Andy Murray, his desire to win more Grand Slams, and also touched upon the injury concerns.

"I mean, look, it's a muscle tear. Two years ago, you know, I have managed it better. On the court it didn't bother me as much. This time that wasn't the case. So in these kind of instances I guess have you to try to do as much as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time, and that was the case," the World No. 7 said.

Moreover, just a day later, it was announced that the 37-year-old would not compete at the Davis Cup for Serbia against Denmark.