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Novak Djokovic gestures to the crowd at the Australian Open
John McEnroe was among those who questioned the severity of the hamstring injury that forced Novak Djokovic to pull out of the Australian Open and now that debate is set to be reignited.
Djokovic sustained an injury in his hugely impressive quarter-final win against Carlos Alcaraz, with many observers confused by the Serbian’s ability to perform at such a high level in the third and fourth set of that match despite his physical problem.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion posted an image on his social media platforms showing a scan of the muscle tear, with many expecting the former world No 1 to be out of tennis for a couple of months.
Now he has confirmed he is ready to return to action less than a month after that setback, as he confirmed he is ready to play in next week’s Qatar Open.
“There is no more rupture in the muscle, the injury is almost 100 per cent repaired and I am ready to go to new work victories,” he told Vijesti.
“I have the green light from the medical team that I can train, that I can prepare. The tournament in Doha is scheduled for seven days now so I’m sticking to the schedule. Thank God, I was able to recover quickly.
“I’ve had a bit more injuries lately than I did in the first 15 years of my career. This probably comes with age, but my body still listens to me, I still have a burning flame and a desire to achieve and achieve new things. That’s why he hopes for success, both next week in Doha and in the rest of the season.”
Djokovic was bizarrely booed off court by the Australian Open fans as he retired from his semi-final against Zverev, as it seemed the spectators were disappointed the Serbian had opted to end the match early.
The sight of a 10-time Australian Open champion being jeered as he left the court in what may have been his final appearance in Melbourne sparked a big debate over his enduring battle to be respected by the tennis world.
Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend told Tennis365 that the scenes in Melbourne were ‘perplexing’, as he argued the most successful male tennis player of all-time deserved better.
“To be booed off the court when you have been a champion there ten times over was a surprise,” Overend told Tennis365. “You never like to hear it and I don’t really understand why it happened.
“Whether the fans felt they didn’t receive value for money or not, is a spurious argument. Tennis is a curious sport that can go on for hours and hours, but they saw more in one set than you would get in a lot of other sports between Djokovic and Zverev.
“The whole thing was quite perplexing and I’m sure Novak came away from it all feeling pretty annoyed.”
The debate over who should be hailed as the greatest player of all-time rumbles on, even though Djokovic will end his career with more Grand Slam titles and more weeks as world No 1 than his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
He also has a winning record against Federer and Nadal in their head-to-head battles to back up his claims to being the greatest male player, but Overend suspects some cynics will always question his claims to that title.
“I have come around to concluding that Djokovic is the greatest player of all-time. It’s impossible to dispute that now,” added Overend.
“If you are disputing that, it’s based on how stylish you thought Federer looked at Centre Court at Wimbledon. That was always the argument in the Federer vs Nadal debate when people said they preferred Federer because they just loved the way he hit his backhand and how amazing it looked.
“You can’t now use that as an argument in his favour and the argument that Rafa is the greatest could be that he was successful on all surfaces and was absolutely dominant at Roland Garros, but you could argue the same for Novak with his dominance at the Australian Open and the fact he leads the head to heads against the other two? Absolutely you can.
“There is no doubt that from an early age, he has been cast into this role as a pantomime villain.
“Has he brought that on himself at times? I’d say yes, having watched him at close quarters over the years. Some of the smirks, some of the looks he gives on court, they play in that perception.
“Has he wanted to be loved because of the adoration spectators give Federer and Nadal? I think the answer to that question is yes and if I were in his shoes, I’d feel put out by the treatment he gets.
“Come on, what more can he do? Not everyone has the same personality to bring that warmth and that is not a criticism in any way.”
Those who questioned the severity of Djokovic’s injury in Melbourne will now be encouraged to revive the notion that the problem was not as bad as the tennis legend had suggested.
It didn’t take long for snipers on social media to suggest Djokovic had exaggerated his injury in Melbourne, with that reaction inevitable given the rapid nature of his recovery.
From Djokovic’s perspective, he will be relieved to be taking his place in the Qatar Open after he signed a lucrative deal to promote Qatar Airways and specifically this tournament in late 2024.