The 2025 Australian Open was a tournament full of mixed emotions for Novak Djokovic. While he made it to the last four and defeated players like Carlos Alcaraz, he had to end his campaign abruptly after sustaining an injury. The 24-time Grand Slam champion suffered a muscle tear during his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev as his dream of winning his 25th major title here was quashed. Further, Djokovic didn’t receive the best reception after pulling out of the match. However, legendary British athlete, Kevin Pietersen, came to his rescue.

The local crowd booed Djokovic after he decided to withdraw from his match against Zverev midway. Additionally, fans also took to social media to express their displeasure at Djokovic quitting the semifinal encounter midway. As a result, Pietersen slammed the media and fans for being brutal on Djokovic.

He took to Twitter and said, “Many straight shooters who question the status quo are frowned upon by the media. It’s sickening that the greatest of all time has to post a scan of his hamstring. I know Novak to be kind, caring, thoughtful, intelligent and incredibly compassionate for other people.”

After the media and fans criticized Djokovic and even accused him of faking his injury, the Serb took to social media and shared his MRI scan, which showed that he had indeed had a muscle tear, which required immediate attention. “Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there,” Djokovic wrote while sharing his report.

Amid his criticism, tennis legend, John McEnroe was full of praise for Djokovic. He highlighted the Serb’s influence behind the rise of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

John McEnroe makes a heartening confession on Novak Djokovic

Earlier today, Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev to win the Australian Open title. It was the Italian star’s third major title, as he successfully defended his trophy Down Under. Seeing Sinner and Alcaraz’s rise over the past few years, McEnroe feels that Djokovic had a major role to play in it.

He revealed, “I am going to say first of all that Djokovic, I am going to hand it to him, because he has forced these youngsters to get better. They realise how good he is and still is. And he has shown that when he outwitted Alcaraz and pulled that out. We talk about when is the changing of the guard? I think you are finally seeing that for real. Let’s face it, it was Sinner and Alcaraz who won all four majors [last year].”

Meanwhile, Djokovic admitted that the Australian Open was the best chance for him to win the 25th major title. While he doesn’t have much time left in his career, can Djokovic add another Grand Slam title to his kitty? Let us know your views in the comments below.