Both almost questioned the real extent of his injury and sent a sort of message to Zverev, in view of the delicate appointment. The Belgrade native, however, withdrew at the end of the first set precisely because of the strong pain in his left leg.

Boris Becker has hit back after Novak Djokovic shared the extent of his injury after retiring from the Australian Open. The Serb raised concerns after having a medical timeout during his quarter-final match but he won and advanced to the last four. Djokovic then retired during the semis and was booed off the court.

Novak Djokovic's injury has stirred oceans of opinions among the media, players, former players and fans. A premise that I want to make before going on in the article: A competitor like Nole must have suffered too much physically,