Novak Djokovic injury extent revealed by Australian Open boss

Novak Djokovic has been described as ‘remarkable’ by Tennis Australia’s CEO, Craig Tiley, after revealing the full diagnosis of his hamstring injury.

Tiley disclosed that Djokovic was suffering from a three-centimetre tear in his hamstring throughout his run to a 10th Australian Open title.

Djokovic picked up the injury in Adelaide, where he was also victorious, and had his left leg strapped throughout the first Grand Slam of the year. The Serb also had several medical timeouts on his way to a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title, as well as skipping practice sessions.

However, after only dropping one set on his route to the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, some questioned the severity of his injury.

Tiley dismissed these claims, “A lot of the challenges around Novak are that he gets a bad rap. But at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone can question his athleticism.”

“This guy I did see, he had a three-centimetre tear in his hammy [hamstring]. Absolutely [I saw the scans], the doctors are going to tell you the truth.”

He continued, “There was a lot of speculation about whether it was true or not. It’s hard to believe that they can do what they do with those kinds of injuries. He’s remarkable, to deal with it extremely professionally.”

“He’s so focused on everything he does, with every single minute of the day. That’s what he eats, what he drinks, when he does it, how he does it. There’s no breakdown or mental breakdown in anything that he does.”

Djokovic, himself, fought back against these accusations and suggested he may publicise his scans, “Only my injuries are questioned. When some other players are injured, then they are the victims, but when it is me, I am faking it. It is very interesting… I don’t feel that I need to prove anything to anyone.”

“I have got the MRI, ultrasound and everything else, both from two years ago and now. Whether I will publish that in my documentary or on social media, depends on how I feel. Maybe I will do it, maybe I won’t.”

Djokovic equalled his great rival Rafael Nadal with his title in Melbourne and the Australian Open boss was full of praise for him, “He’s been through a lot and to win 10 Australian Opens, I don’t think that’s ever going to be repeated.”

“Over the last 15 years, he tells me it’s 14 years because he missed last year, it’s such a remarkable achievement. He’ll hold a significant place in the history of the Australian Open.”