John McEnroe suggested Novak Djokovic may have been using a familiar mind game trick when he claimed he had an injury in his Australian Open quarter-final match against Carlos Alcaraz and that verbal swipe could spark an ominous reaction from the champion eyeing up another moment of glory in Melbourne.

This is not the first time Djokovic has been accused of feigning injury during a match, with the mere suggestion of such duplicitous actions sparking outrage among the Serbian’s passionate army of supporters.

Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open while nursing a leg injury that many observers did not believe was as bad as he claimed, as he offered up these comments to ESPN when he saw the Serbian getting treatment for the hamstring problem at the end of the first set 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

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.

Djokovic offered up a very different version of events as he addressed his fitness issue in his post-match press conferences, after suggesting he may have pulled out of the match if he had lost the second set against Alcaraz.

“I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up,” said Djokovic, who hinted this latest injury felt similar to the hamstring problem he had when he won the 2023 Australian Open.

“I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio, today, tomorrow, the next few days. Probably skip training tomorrow. I’ll see if I’m going to train in two days or not.

“I’ll take it day by day. Now it’s really about recovery. I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But, if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, and emotionally, I’m as motivated as I can be.

“I’m just pleased with the way I was able to play throughout the entire tournament, including against one of the best players, one of the two or three best players in the word in the last three, four years. It’s just a great win. I’m very proud of it.”

The hint that Djokovic may have been faking injury to distract his opponent is as strong as it gets in any sport, with former world No 1 Andy Roddick joining the debate as he believes Alcaraz was not convinced by the injury claims of his rivals as he ‘mocked’ him on court.

“Carlos got up on a switch over and was kind of limping around,” Roddick said on his Served podcast.

“I don’t know if that was mocking Novak, who seemed to be compromised with his movement and then in the third and fourth set, moved as well than I’ve seen him in 18 months or two years. That will live. I’m sure that will have its own heartbeat in the post-mortem of his match.”

Djokovic may well hit back in this debate over whether his latest injury is as serious as he fears it may be, with his agile performance in the third and fourth sets against Alcaraz adding fuel to the fire that he will be in good shape to take on Alexander Zverev in Friday’s semi-final.

More Tennis News

Novak Djokovic’s stance on injury faking accusations is clear after John McEnroe conspiracy theory

Novak Djokovic may just have ended the GOAT debate once and for all – not just in tennis

Yet the cynics would be wise to recall a similar debate after Djokovic battled to a victory against Francisco Cerundolo at the French Open despite suffering a knee injury during that match.

The Serbian maestro was forced to withdraw from that tournament prior to his quarter-final with Casper Ruud due to a torn medial meniscus in his knee, which affected him for the rest of 2024.

There is no doubt that Djokovic thrives amid adversity and his battles with raucous members of the crowd at this year’s Australian Open have highlighted his eagerness to find extra motivation to win.

McEnroe’s comments that an injury that could derail Djokvoic’s hopes of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam will be put to the test when he takes on Zverev in the semi-finals and once again if he faces a final on Sunday, which is likely to be against world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

The odds are still stacked against the veteran winning another Grand Slam title with two much younger and fresher rivals blocking his path to glory, but writing off Djokovic is a fool’s game and devious comments of the ilk McEnroe offered up could give him the fire he needs to roar in victory once again in Melbourne.

READ NEXT: 5 times Novak Djokovic has been accused of faking injury after McEnroe claim: ft. Federer & Roddick