The Australian Open competition’s director, Craig Tiley, stated that Novak Djokovic triumphed despite suffering a three-centimeter (a little over an inch) muscle tear in his left hamstring.

 

This individual, whom I did see, had a three-centimeter rip in his hamstring, said Tiley to SEN Sportsday on Wednesday. “He gets a poor rap, but at the end of the day, nobody can doubt his skill, in my opinion.”

 

“The physicians will tell you the truth,” Tiley stated. “I think there was a lot of conjecture about whether it was true, and it’s difficult to imagine that someone can do what they do with those kinds of injuries, but he’s extraordinary.”

 

On Sunday, Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win the trophy at Melbourne Park, increasing his record there to ten titles and tying his overall record of 22 Grand Slam titles. The only other man with that many major championship victories is Rafael Nadal.

 

Djokovic’s victory on Monday allowed him to reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings.

 

Before the Australian Open, the 35-year-old Serbian injured his hamstring during a practice match in Adelaide. He had a thick bandage covering his left thigh, and trainers would check on him during games in Melbourne’s first week.

 

He claimed he used “a lot” of painkillers and underwent a number of procedures to assist the limb.

 

Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic’s coach, remarked after the match, “I don’t say 100% of the players, but 97% of the players when you get the results of the MRI on Saturday, you go straight to the referee’s quarters and pull out of the tournament. But not him, since his brain is wired differently.