Australian Open director Craig Tiley has heaped praise on champion Novak Djokovic and revealed there are no doubts about the injury that has plagued him throughout the tournament.
Djokovic had serious physical problems especially in the first three rounds, with his movement most difficult in the matches with Enzo Cuaco and Grigor Dimitrov.
His convincing wins after that over Alex de Minor, Andrei Rublev and Tony Paul raised doubts about whether Nole was really injured and whether he was exaggerating to gain a psychological advantage over his rivals.
Craig Tiley gave details of the injury, revealing he had seen a scan photo of the Serbian.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about whether he’s injured or not. It’s hard to believe that someone with an injury like that can win the tournament, but he’s amazing. A lot of Novak’s problems come from having a bad reputation. After all, nobody his athleticism can be questioned.
I saw the scan – he has a 3 cm tear in the thigh muscle. Doctors don’t lie. He went through a lot to win his 10th title and I don’t think his feat will ever be repeated. Djokovic has an important place in the history of the Australian Open,” said the tournament director.
