'Growing Suspicion' About Djokovic's Injuries Led To AO Crowd Booing Says Nadal's Uncle
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Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, believes doubts about the authenticity of Novak Djokovic's injuries were among the reasons he was booed after retiring at the Australian Open.
Djokovic felt he could not continue after losing the first set of his semifinal in Melbourne against Alexander Zverev on a tiebreak and retired. His movement had started to decline as the set went on.
Those physical struggles began in the quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz despite the Serbian winning the match. However, that did not prevent the crowd from booing him after retiring against Zverev.
Djokovic has been accused of exaggerating or even faking injuries in the past. John McEnroe was among those who felt the ten-time Australian Open champion was not being genuine against Alcaraz and told fans not to be fooled.
Those who doubted Djokovic were probably left red-faced when he released an image of his MRI scan. The photo showed the muscle tear in his hamstring that led to the retirement against Zverev and the dates of previous MRI scans that matched prior injury issues.
Although the crowd's booing was unfair, Toni Nadal, writing in El Pais, gave two reasons why the fans reacted that way: disappointment about not seeing a full match and suspicions about the authenticity of Djokovic's injuries.
"Another issue to consider is why there was such an outburst in the stands once the events unfolded. First of all, I understand that the public showed their disappointment and anger at being deprived of the expected spectacle after purchasing a ticket for it."
"The second and perhaps most significant reason is that over the years, there has been a growing suspicion around Novak, due to his expressions or histrionics, casting doubt on the authenticity of his injuries."
Toni thinks Djokovic's delay in deciding to retire until after the first set had been played caused some to mistakenly believe the injury was not as severe as the Serbian revealed later by posting the image from his MRI scan.
"When a player faces physical problems in such a match, they typically delay the decision to withdraw until the last moment. They call the physio, struggle through a few games with limitations and only when realizing the inevitable, do they opt for retirement."
"On several occasions, we have seen Novak with similar performances, using facial expressions and body language that contradict what we see on the court, raising doubts about the authenticity of his issues."
However, Toni made it clear that he did not support Djokovic being booed off the court by fans and that the 24-time Grand Slam champion should be respected for everything he has done for tennis.
"I believe that a great champion like the Serbian, someone who has contributed to writing the most glorious pages of tennis history, should not depart in this manner from any court and even less so from the Rod Laver Arena, where he holds the records for victories and titles."
"Respect, this is my personal feeling, he truly deserves in that difficult moment, without a doubt, of having to leave the court that has seen him triumph so many times."
