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Former England captain Kevin Pietersen showcased the strong support for tennis legend Novak Djokovic amid the criticism and backlash surrounding the Serbian ace's injury during the 2025 Australian Open. After the 37-year-old tennis legend sustained a muscle tear in his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev at the Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic went on to face backlash from both tennis media and fans for withdrawing from the match.
In addition, fans were seen booing him after he retired from the semifinal thriller. The 24-time major winner also faced criticism during his quarterfinal game against Carlos Alcaraz, as fans claimed that he was acting for the fake injury to disturb the momentum of the 21-year-old Spaniard in the game.
Kevin Pietersen showcased the strong support for tennis legend Novak Djokovic
In the same vein, legendary batter Pietersen took to Twitter to defend Novak Djokovic, stating it was "sickening" that the "greatest of all time" felt forced to share his MRI scan to prove the legitimacy of his injury after fans outraged both on and off the court. The 44-year-old cricketer highly spoke about the tennis legend's character, describing him as "kind, caring, thoughtful, intelligent, and incredibly compassionate in his tweet. The fans love the gesture of the English cricketer, who came forward to support Djokovic.
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Kevin Pieterson former @englandcricket captain talking about Djokovic today;
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) January 26, 2025
"Many straight shooters who question the status quo are frowned upon by the media. Sickening that the greatest player of all time has to post a scan of his hamstring. I know Novak to be kind, caring,…
"Many straight shooters who question the status quo are frowned upon by the media. Sickening that the greatest player 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," Pietersen wrote on X.
This incident comes after Novak Djokovic shared his MRI and CT scans with the fans to showcase that he wasn't fake injured and disturbing the momentum of Carlos Alcaraz. Notably, the Serbian ace suffered defeat in the first set of the quarterfinal game, but after his medical time-out, Djokovic stages his comeback to win the next three sets to enter the semi-finals. However, Djokovic sustained grave injuries after losing the first set against Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, forcing him to retire from the 2025 Australian Open. The fans were extremely disappointed after the Serbian ace pulled out from the first Grand Slam of the year, allowing Zverev to head to the final showdown.