There’s been a lot of commentary swirling around Novak Djokovic’s shocking exit from the Australian Open and it looks like the 24-time Grand Slam champ just isn’t having it.
In an unfortunate turn of events on Friday, he left the court to a chorus of boos when he pulled the plug on his match with Alexander Zverev after one set, clarifying later that he’d been dealing with a muscle tear since his previous win over Carlos Alcaraz.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic said in a post-match conference, per ABC News.
“Towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
When asked about the crowd’s reaction, Djokovic responded frankly: “I am doing my best to understand them, but I am not sure whether they understand me or if they even want to understand me.
“I know how my body works, what I feel, and I know how much I’ve given to this tournament in the past 20-plus years. I will stop here, so that I don’t continue [speaking] in the wrong direction.”
Still, a few boos from the crowd didn’t seem to be the end of it, with accusations and questions emerging over the weekend that he was allegedly exaggerating the extent of his injury.
Taking matters into his own hands, Djokovic has decided to call out his critics with a post made to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury ‘experts’ out there,” he wrote, accompanied by a photo of an MRI scan.
However, he stopped short of adding any more details about the injury or when he might be back in action.
His post has been met with a wave of support, with one fan writing: “Novak, you don’t owe any of our haters and doubters a response. The ones who matter know you are the biggest fighter in tennis and put your heart and soul into every match.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself again and again, champ! You’ll always be the GOAT,” another user shared.
UK tennis blogger Pavvy G also echoed the sentiment, adding he was proud of the tennis star for countering “all the false narratives”.
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Zverev had also called out those who booed Djokovic during his on-court interview on Friday.
“I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see hopefully a great five-set match,” Zverev said.
“But you’ve got to understand — Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given this sport, for the past 20 years, absolutely everything of his life.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, he’s won it with a hamstring injury, if he cannot continue a tennis match he cannot continue a tennis match. Please, be respectful.”
Zverev is set to face off against Jannik Sinner in the men’s final at the Australian Open this evening.
Lead image source: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
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