Novak Djokovic’s injury during his gripping victory over Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Australian Open has sparked widespread discussion in the tennis world.
Despite the setback, Djokovic secured a remarkable 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win against his 21-year-old opponent. The 37-year-old required treatment for a leg injury when trailing 5-4 in the first set.
Djokovic’s movement was visibly affected late in the opening set and throughout much of the second, as he appeared to struggle with discomfort. However, he adopted an ultra-aggressive playing style to claim the second set, with his mobility and overall performance improving as the match progressed.
During a medical timeout, Djokovic had his left thigh strapped and later revealed that he had taken two doses of medication to manage the pain. The tennis legend admitted that he might have considered retiring from the match if he had not managed to win the second set.
“Well, since I’m still in the tournament I don’t want to reveal too much obviously,” the 24-time major champion winner told Jim Courier in his on-court interview.
“Yeah, the medication started to kick in and they helped, no doubt. I had to take another dose, I mean this sounds awful (laughs), me taking another dose, but I had to.
“I didn’t know, to be honest, if I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better. Managed to play a great couple of games to end up the second set.
“And then I saw that Carlos was hesitant a little bit from back of the court and I took my chances, started to feel better, started to move better. It didn’t create any hinderance towards the end of the match, only in that second set.
“Obviously when the medications start to release, I’ll see what the reality is tomorrow morning. But yeah, right now I will just try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory.”
Commentating on the match for ESPN, McEnroe controversially claimed that Djokovic was tactically feigning injury against Alcaraz.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled,” said the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.
After Djokovic won the second set, McEnroe’s brother and co-commentator Patrick McEnroe asked him in disbelief: “Did you see this coming!?”
“Yes,” the elder McEnroe replied.
Novak Djokovic encountered similar allegations during the 2023 Australian Open, where he overcame a hamstring injury to claim his 10th title at the tournament. Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge accused Djokovic of “playing up” the injury.
Following his fourth-round victory against Alex de Minaur in Melbourne, Djokovic addressed the skepticism surrounding his injuries, criticizing the double standards and highlighting that other players are not subjected to the same level of scrutiny.
“I leave the doubting to those people – let them doubt,” the tennis great told Serbian media.
“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 I it, maybe I won’t.
“I am not really interested at this point what people are thinking and saying. It is fun, it is interesting to see how the narrative surrounding me continues, narrative that is different compared to other players that have been going through similar situations. But I am used to it and it just gives me extra strength and motivation. So I thank them for that.”
While he did not want to give too much away about the injury he suffered against Alcaraz, Djokovic did reveal it was similar to his hamstring issue at the 2023 Australian Open.
“I’m not going to go into details, but it’s very similar to what I had few years ago. 2023, to be exact. I haven’t done any tests obviously,” he explained in his press conference.
“I mean, I’ve done tests with the physio when they took me off the court, when I had the medical timeout. He strapped me, and then the doctor gave me some medication, so forth, some painkillers. That kicked in after 20, 30 minutes. It did help. Then I had to take another dose I think in the beginning of the fourth.
“Yeah, now that it’s cooling off, I can start to feel different things. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow and day by day.”
The Serbian added: “Now it’s really about recovery. I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to, yeah, be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I’m as motivated as I can be.”
Djokovic will play world No 2 Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park on Friday.
