MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic has shared a scan of his injured left hamstring on social media, following a disappointing exit from the Australian Open. This came over 24 hours after he sustained boos from the crowd when he withdrew from his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev just after one set due to what he called a torn muscle.
The legendary tennis player, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles, posted the MRI image taken on Saturday. He included a caption that seemingly addressed his critics: “Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury ‘experts’ out there.” However, Djokovic did not provide any further details regarding his injury or the length of time he might need to recover.
During the match on Friday, Djokovic dropped the first set in a tiebreak and decided to end the game after shaking hands with Zverev and the umpire. As he headed towards the locker room, some fans expressed their displeasure with jeers. In a display of respect, Djokovic gave the crowd a thumbs up before exiting.
Zverev, who was on the receiving end of Djokovic’s decision, defended him during his on-court interview, emphasizing the contributions Djokovic has made to the sport over the past two decades. “I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see hopefully a great five-set match,” he stated. “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.”
Djokovic had initially suffered the injury in the late stages of his quarterfinal matchup against Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the week, where he ultimately prevailed in four sets. He was seen with tape on his upper left leg during that match and continued to wear a similar wrap against Zverev.
Despite his previous efforts to manage the muscle tear, Djokovic admitted during his post-match news conference that the pain became overwhelming. “It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried,” he remarked.
