Novak Djokovic Slams 'Injury Experts' After Showing Scans Of His Injury
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Novak Djokovic has hit back at those who accused him of exaggerating the injury that led to his retirement from the Australian Open semifinal by posting a picture of a scan he had for the issue.
The Serbian's issue with his left leg first became noticeable in the quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz. He took a medical timeout at 4-5 in the opening set and continued to struggle with his movement in the second set.
However, Djokovic's movement seemed okay in the final two sets of that battle with the Spaniard. That made fans hopeful that the injury concern was not serious and that he would be fully recovered for the semifinal.
How suddenly Djokovic recovered in the third and fourth sets against Alcaraz made some doubt whether he was injured at all. John McEnroe controversially told fans not to be fooled by his actions while commentating on the match.
What happened in the semifinal showed that McEnroe and the other doubters were misguided. After a lengthy and physical opening set against Alexander Zverev, Djokovic retired from the match. His movement had become slower as the set progressed.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion's injury was a torn muscle in his left hamstring. Most players would not have stepped onto the court with that problem, so playing a set in the semifinal was a brave effort.
Djokovic further exposed those who unfairly accused him of exaggerating the injury by posting the image from his MRI scan on social media, which can be viewed below. The tear in his hamstring is very evident.
That image was also accompanied by a brief and sarcastic message. Djokovic wrote that he was posting the MRI scan for the "experts" who doubted whether the injury was severe or even existed.
"Thought I'd leave this here for all the sports injury 'experts' out there."
The tennis legend's anger about the accusations of exaggerating his injury is understandable after giving so much to tennis over the years and winning tournaments by fighting through physical issues.
It was not just McEnroe and online fans who doubted Djokovic's injury. Some booed the ten-time Australian Open champion as he left the Rod Laver Arena after retiring. They felt he could have played more if he wanted to.
Djokovic spoke honestly about being booed in a press conference afterward. While he tried to be diplomatic and considerate of the fans' frustrations, the former ATP world No. 1 also thinks those people do not want to truly understand him.
Zverev's reaction to the booing undoubtedly meant a lot to Djokovic. The German said the fans were wrong to do that to an iconic figure in the sport and stated that Djokovic would only retire if he really could not carry on.
Djokovic, a friend of Zverev's off the court, said in his press conference that he hopes Zverev wins a maiden Grand Slam in the final. To achieve that, the 27-year-old must beat the defending champion and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
