'Remarkable' Novak Djokovic won title with 'three cm hamstring tear' reveals Australian Open boss Craig Tiley
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Published 01/02/2023 at 09:44 GMT
Novak Djokovic was in sensational form as he claimed a record-extending 10th Australian Open title in Melbourne. This was achieved despite the Serb coming into the tournament carrying a hamstring injury. However, with the severity of the injury questioned by some, tournament boss Craig Tiley has dismissed those claims by revealing how badly the 35-year-old was actiually suffering.
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Novak Djokovic’s latest Australian Open victory has been described as "remarkable" after it has been revealed that he apparently competed with a three-centimetre tear in his hamstring.
Djokovic , with his left leg heavily strapped for many of his matches, and required regular treatments on his way to securing a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam singles title.
The Serb was also forced to skip training sessions between matches as he continued to play through the pain barrier. However, the severity of his injury was questioned in some quarters, something that the Australian Open CEO, Craig Tiley, has dismissed outright.
“A lot of the challenges around Novak are that he gets a bad rap,” Tiley told SEN Sportsday as he detailed the extent of the injury suffered by Djokovic.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone can question his athleticism.
“This guy I did see, he had a three-centimetre tear in his hammy. Absolutely [I saw the scans], the doctors are going to tell you the truth.
“There was a lot of speculation about whether it was true or not. It’s hard to believe that they can do what they do with those kinds of injuries.
“He’s remarkable, to deal with it extremely professionally.”
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Djokovic took the time to respond to those doubting the extent of his injury during the tournament, hinting that he would one day show proof of how bad the issue really was.
Speaking after his fourth-round win over Alex de Minaur : “Only my injuries are questioned. When some other players are injured, then they are the victims, but when it is me, I am faking it. It is very interesting… I don’t feel that I need to prove anything to anyone.
“I have got the MRI, ultrasound and everything else, both from two years ago and now. Whether I will publish that in my documentary or on social media, depends on how I feel. Maybe I will do it, maybe I won’t."
Eurosport expert Mats Wilander also hit out at the spectulation, slamming the claims from some doubters as "ridiculous".
“When you hear people talking in a negative way, it is like, ‘what are you doing?’" Wilander said on Eurosport's Australian Open coverage.
"It is so ridiculous that you are accusing someone of something like that. First of all, there is no way you want to let the locker room know that you are injured unless you are injured.
"So, to think that it is some kind of fake injury is absolutely ridiculous. To me, it’s a completely ridiculous argument. I mean, it is his thing - of course, he has pain; of course, he’s injured. But he can play tennis. That is the only thing that matters to me.”
Djokovic’s latest triumph in Melbourne took his tally to 10 Australian Open titles, and drew him level with Rafael Nadal on 22 for the total number of Grand Slam singles titles.
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The 2023 Australian Open was live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk
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