Jimmy Connors gives his verdict on Novak Djokovic after Australian Open booing controversy

Ewan West
Jimmy Connors and Novak Djokovic
Jimmy Connors and Novak Djokovic

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors has shared his thoughts on the brutal reaction Novak Djokovic received after retiring due to injury at the 2025 Australian Open.

Djokovic suffered a leg injury in the first set of his four-set quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.

After losing a gruelling opening set of his semi-final match with Alexander Zverev, the Serbian was forced to retire due to the same issue.

The 10-time Australian Open champion was met with incredibly harsh booing from some sections of the crowd as he left Rod Laver Arena.

The 37-year-old tennis great has since confirmed he sustained a hamstring tear in his left leg by sharing an MRI scan on X.

“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there,” the 24-time major winner wrote.

Djokovic battled through injuries to win his last two Australian Open titles, having overcome a hamstring tear in 2023 and an abdominal tear in 2021.

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Speaking with his son Brett on his Advantage Connors podcast, Connors suggested Djokovic’s stance over the Covid vaccine was a factor in the crowd’s negative response to his retirement.

“It just goes to show it doesn’t matter what you do,” the eight-time Grand Slam winner and former world No 1 said.

“No good deed goes unpunished. It is crazy but you know what, I look back over the last number of years and he has done some things.

“He stood up for himself, he thought that is the way it should be done, didn’t meet with the approval of many, many people around the world and that’s something he got criticised for. I am talking about Covid.

“And now when something happens like this – I also look and I see that, not everybody can wear the white hat. If everyone wore the white hat and was the good guy, it would be a bit boring to me.

“A little controversy or a different attitude, it doesn’t have to be much, but I always thought that there is one quote that I like, it says, ‘do what you think, say what you want, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind’.

“I like that because it kind of fit me. The emphasis here is that it is never enough, you can push yourself to the brink and be on life support and they would still boo you.

“I am just going to say this. You have got those people who no matter what are going to have that feeling of, I don’t know if it’s jealousy or what it is, but unless you stay straight down the line, they are always going to get on you.”

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