Novak Djokovic has suggested that John McEnroe’s controversial comments during the Australian Open were what “provoked” him to respond to questions over the validity of his injury.

The legendary Serb suffered a hamstring tear in the first set of his four-set Australian Open quarter-final victory over world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz.

Late in the opening set and for much of the second set, Djokovic grimaced with discomfort as his movement was hampered.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion 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 and former world No 1.

Djokovic was then forced to retire due to the same injury after losing the first set of his semi-final match with Alexander Zverev at Melbourne Park.

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Following his painful exit from the tournament, Djokovic shared an image of an MRI scan confirming a hamstring tear in his left leg as he hit back at those who accused him of faking injury.

“Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there,” the 37-year-old posted on social media.

Djokovic has made a rapid recovery from his injury to return in time for the Qatar Open ATP 500 event, which will begin on February 17.

Following a practice session in Doha, Djokovic addressed his response to his injury doubters and seemed to refer to McEnroe as he called out “legends” without naming the American great.

“Well, I was provoked by the fact that several times in a row, as long as I was in Australia, I was injured on the 21st and the 23rd,” the world No 7 told Serbian reporters (translated from Serbian).

“I can’t say everyone, but I felt a fairly large group of people thought that it was not true and that my injuries were actually some kind of provocation on my part or to play strategic mental games with my opponents. And I would not have reacted if some legends of our sport had not reacted.

“I think that when some things remain on social media, that’s fine, but when it escalates to the point where people have a dilemma and simply question my integrity and the credibility of what I said.

“Especially when it comes from some people who are really legends of the sport and who have a multi-million audience that listens to them when they broadcast the matches, then I felt the need to react, to show the recording from the MRI.”

Djokovic will face world No 34 Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the Qatar Open.

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