Novak Djokovic was retired hurt during the Australian Open semi-final© AFP
Novak Djokovic blasted “all sports injury experts” on Saturday when he posted the results of a scan which demonstrated the extent of the leg injury which shattered his Australian Open dream. Djokovic left the court to a chorus of boos on Friday when he retired from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev after dropping the first set on a tie-break. The 37-year-old said a tear in his upper left thigh, which was heavily strapped, had made it impossible for him to carry on.
Djokovic posted the results of an MRI exam he underwent in Melbourne which highlighted a large, dark area inside his thigh.
“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury ‘experts’ out there,” wrote 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic above the image he posted to his official X account.
The post had attracted more than four million views within four hours of appearing.
The loss to Zverev ended Djokovic’s latest bid to claim a record 25th Grand Slam title.
“I did everything I possibly could to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic told reporters after his loss to Zverev.
“Towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle for me.”
Djokovic found an ally in Zverev who leapt to the defence of the Serb after some in the crowd made clear their feelings about his premature exit from the semi-final.
“I think we should stop blaming Novak,” said Zverev who faces Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final.
“Novak has done absolutely everything he could on the tennis court in the last 20 years.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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