Kim Clijsters joins Jelena Dokic in telling response to accusations against Djokovic

Yahoo

30-01-2025

Kim Clijsters has echoed the thoughts of Jelena Dokic in dismissing ugly claims about Novak Djokovic 'faking' injuries or playing them up. Djokovic was forced to retire hurt in his semi-final clash with Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open after tearing his hamstring against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters.
It came after many had suggested Djokovic was only foxing when he clutched at his hamstring against Alcaraz, particularly after he went on to win in four sets. After being forced to call it quits in the semis, Djokovic posted a scan of his torn hamstring for "all the injury experts" who questioned it.
The Serbian star has been questioned a number of times throughout his career in regards to the severity of injuries, after famously winning the Australian Open titles in 2021 and 2023 with a torn hamstring and abdominal respectively. And earlier this week, Rafa Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni poured fuel on the fire with some staggering comments.
Thought I'd leave this here for all the sports injury 'experts' out there. pic.twitter.com/ZO5mBtw9zB
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 25, 2025
Making mention of the fact Djokovic was booed off court when he retired against Zverev, Toni wrote for Spanish media: "I understand that the public showed their disappointment and anger at being deprived of the spectacle they had been expecting after having paid for it. The most significant reason is that over the years, there has been a growing suspicion around Novak, due to his expressions or histrionics, casting doubt on the authenticity of his injuries."
Toni questioned why Djokovic called it quits so abruptly without even calling the trainer or taking a medical timeout. 'When a player faces physical problems in such a match, they typically delay the decision to withdraw until the last moment. They call the physio, struggle through a few games with limitations and only when realising the inevitable, do they opt for retirement. On several occasions, we have seen Novak with similar performances, using facial expressions and body language that contradict what we see on the court, raising doubts about the authenticity of his issues.'
But speaking on 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast on Thursday, four-time grand slam champion Clijsters rejected that notion completely. The 2011 Australian Open champ pointed out that even when Djokovic needed knee surgery after the French Open last year, the severity of the injury was still questioned because he managed to make the Wimbledon final in his very next tournament just weeks later.
'The thing with Novak is we have been so used to seeing him get through it all with the recovery things that he does, with his mental strength," Clijsters said. 'It's almost like we think it's normal he will heal from this during the tournament and then people question whether he's telling the truth when it is happening.
'That is where I am like it's already annoying enough when you have a problem, you don't want people to question whether you are being honest. It's annoying. I do feel like with him people are questioning a lot of it. I remember people saying: 'I don't even know if he had his knee surgery.''
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Speaking immediately after Djokovic's retirement, Dokic said: "We've seen Djokovic in his career when he's had injuries, he's played through them. He's continued in the tournament and gone on and hasn't retired. Only a really heavy knee injury at the French Open took him out last year when he couldn't play the quarter-final. So if he decided he couldn't play, he really couldn't play."