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4 hours ago
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Novak Djokovic has admitted he is unsure what lies ahead for him and his partnership with Andy Murray after the 10-time Australian Open champion was forced to quit the tournament due to injury.
The Serbian produced one of the best performances of his illustrious career in the quarter-finals to beat Carlos Alcaraz, yet he was unable to summon the same heroics two days later against Alex Zverev.
Djokovic shocked the crowd when he retired at the end of the first set, causing a smattering of boos to echo around Rod Laver Arena.
Amid the surprising scenes, Djokovic limped over to his bag after calling it a day while his coach Andy Murray quickly exited stage left.
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"We are both disappointed with what just happened, so we haven’t talked about the future steps," a downbeat Djokovic said post-match about his unique arrangement with the retired three-time grand slam winner.
"We are still hot-headed and disappointed, so it's kind of hard to switch the page and start talking about what the next steps are."
The two former rivals, who contested seven grand slam finals against each other in the past, have struck up an unlikely partnership yet the arrangement is still a brand-new one.
Before Djokovic embarked on his ultimately unsuccessful tilt at yet another title in Australia, the duo linked up for a short practice block in Spain and then switched their sights to Melbourne.
The recently retired Scotsman had been in Djokovic's corner throughout the tournament, while even having a warm-up knock with the Serbian ahead of his match against Jacob Fearnley.
"I'll definitely have a chat with Andy and thank him for being here with me," Djokovic said.
"You know, I'll give him my feedback, which is, of course, positive, and see how he feels and we'll then make the next step.
"[But for now] I think we both need to cool off a little bit and then we'll have a chat."
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