Novak Djokovic offers first response to John McEnroe injury snipes as he hits back

Novak Djokovic was forced to pull out of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev with a muscle injury, with the angry reaction of the fans at on Rod Laver Arena crowd sparking a huge debate.
Djokovic went into the match with a huge injury cloud hanging over him after he sustained a muscle injury in his quarter-final match against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
When he decided he could not continue against Zverev after a tight first set, plenty of spectators booed as Djokovic left the court.
“Please guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” implored Zverev as he addressed the agitated crowd after the match.
“I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see a great five-set match.
“But you have to understand for the past 20 years Novak Djokovic has given tennis absolutely everything.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, a hamstring tear. If he cannot continue with this match, it means he really can’t continue.”
Djokovic gave his response to the jeers from the crowd in the Serbian section of his press conference in Melbourne as he said: “I don’t know what to say. People came, they paid for the tickets expecting a great match and a big fight, which they didn’t get.
“From that perspective, I can understand. 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,” he said.
“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.”
Djokovic also responded to the comments of seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe, who suggested the Serbian may have been playing mind games when he picked up the injury against Alcaraz.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled,” declared seven-time Grand Slam singles champion McEnroe during his ESPN commentary of the Alcaraz match.
After Djokovic won the second set, McEnroe’s brother and co-commentator Patrick McEnroe asked him in disbelief: “Did you see this coming?”
“Yes,” replied the tennis great, with plenty of debate being sparked on social media platforms after the exchange between the McEnroe’s.
Now Djokovic has given his reaction to those comments, with the suggestion that he was ‘faking’ injury clearly misplaced now after his withdrawal from the tournament.
“To be honest, I haven’t seen these comments, so I can’t say more,” he said. “What I can say is that it’s always easier to judge and criticise than to understand. It’s a lesson I’ve learned in life.”
This was not the first time Djokovic has faced claims that he exaggerated an injury issue, but he was clearly in trouble after his latest fitness setback and that was confirmed by his decision to pull out of the tournament.
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“I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had,” said Djokovic.
“Medications, the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today. But towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.
“Even if I won the first set, it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another God knows what, two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”
Djokovic did not confirm when he would play again, but his hopes of representing Serbia in next weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark in Copenhagen appeared to have been dashed.
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