Novak Djokovic didn’t directly name John McEnroe but strongly indicated that the American tennis icon was the reason why he posted his MRI scans on social media.
After the Serb took a medical timeout late in the first set of his Australian Open quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz, the 66-year-old was on air commentating the match.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled,” McEnroe said on air while sitting in ESPN’s booth.
After his brother asked him if he saw that coming, the former seven-time Grand Slam winner replied: “Yes.”
When the match resumed, Alcaraz served out for the first set but then lost the next three sets as Djokovic completed a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 win.
After the 37-year-old Serb completed a big comeback despite battling a left leg injury, McEnroe’s comments went viral.
However, in his next match, the Serbian tennis star retired against Alexander Zverev after only one set played.
Then, he shared his MRI scans on X so everyone could see that he indeed battled a muscle tear.
Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there. pic.twitter.com/ZO5mBtw9zB
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 25, 2025
Djokovic: My integrity was questioned, even by the legends, I felt i needed to react
“I wouldn’t have reacted if the legends of our sport hadn’t reacted,” the former world No. 1 told Sportal.
“I think it’s okay when some things on social media remain okay, but when it escalates to the point where people have a dilemma and question my integrity and the credibility of what I said.”
“Especially from people who are legends of our sport and who have a multimillion audience, then I already felt the need to react and show the MRI scan.
“I never did that precisely because of the culmination of what happened chronologically on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and now.
“Simply put, I’m fed up with those comments and I say the icing on the cake was that these very important people said what they said.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic has since recovered from his injury and is set to play in Doha this week.
Tennis World USA