Djokovic shares MRI scan as he fires back at McEnroe and 'injury experts'

Novak Djokovic has sent a strong message to John McEnroe and others who questioned the injury he suffered at the 2025 Australian Open.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner sustained the left leg injury early in his four-set quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.

The 37-year-old had his left thigh strapped during a medical timeout in the first set and revealed after the match he had taken two doses of medication to help him play through the pain.

Late in the opening set and for much of the second set, Djokovic’s movement was hampered and he grimaced with discomfort.

The legendary Serb adopted a highly aggressive approach to win the second set, and his movement and level improved as the match progressed, allowing him to seal a remarkable win.

McEnroe, who was commentating on the match for ESPN, asserted that he thought Djokovic was feigning injury.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled,” said the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Such theories looked ridiculous when Djokovic was forced to retire after losing the opening set of his semi-final match with Alexander Zverev due to the same injury.

When Djokovic was booed by sections of the crowd as he left the court, however, McEnroe defended his fellow tennis great.

“He’s won this thing ten times, so come on. Something was clearly up,” McEnroe told Channel 9 in Australia. “The guy’s a battler. Him and Rafa [Nadal] have dug deeper than any two players I’ve ever seen mentally and physically.

“To do that after he decided he couldn’t go on after everything he’s done here was absolutely ludicrous. That was depressing.”

Novak Djokovic News

Martina Navratilova issues ‘disgusting’ verdict after Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open retirement

Novak Djokovic makes painful withdrawal from key event after Australian Open injury blow

In a post shared on his X account, Djokovic shared an image of an MRI scan confirming a hamstring tear in his left leg as he called out his injury doubters.

“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there.”

Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there. pic.twitter.com/ZO5mBtw9zB — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 25, 2025

Following his retirement against Zverev, Djokovic revealed his injury was a muscle tear without going into specific detail.

“I didn’t hit a ball since [the] Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match. I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,” the world No 7 in his press conference.

“Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today. But yeah, towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain.

“It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.

“It’s a muscle tear. Two years ago, I have managed it better. On the court it didn’t bother me as much. This time that wasn’t the case.

“So in these kind of instances I guess have you to try to do as much as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time, and that was the case.

“I had an extra day, so two days no match. So I thought it’s going to be good enough maybe. But yeah, that wasn’t the case, unfortunately.”

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic offers first response to John McEnroe injury snipes

Click here to read article