"Novak Djokovic is a faker";"A head game he plays all the time" - Fans cast doubt over Serb's injured status during dramatic French Open 4R win

Novak Djokovic sustained a right knee injury early in the second set during his fourth-round French Open encounter against Francisco Cerundolo on Monday, June 3. For large parts of the match, it looked as if the injury would prove telling as Cerundolo established a two-sets-to-one advantage.

However, Novak Djokovic came from behind and miraculously won the match. Several fans online questioned how this was possible.

When he sustained the injury, the Serb had already won the first set and the second set was level at 1-1. After a lengthy medical timeout, Djokovic's movement looked severely hampered. Unsurprisingly, Cerundolo made the most of the opportunity and won the second and third sets comfortably. Across both these sets, the Serb often opted to not chase the ball, handing over points rather freely to the Argentine.

However, in the fourth set, the World No. 1's movement showed marked improvement. Djokovic won the set, taking the match into the fifth and deciding set. Here, the Serb's movement seemed further improved as he retrieved seemingly lost causes to leave Cerundolo stunned. Ultimately, the 24-time Grand Slam winner sealed his progress to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win.

One set of fans on X (formerly Twitter) accused Djokovic of faking his injury, with some even citing past examples to prove their points.

"He’s a faker, did the same vs Carlos Alcaraz at Cincinnati," wrote one fan.

"Greatest actor of all time," commented another fan.

"This is a head game he plays all the time and these youngsters fall for it … i am no longer watching his games," another fan chimed in.

Some fans also doubted the severity of Djokovic's knee injury considering the drastic change in his movement during the course of the match.

"I'm sorry but an injured player cannot do this. Suddenly, there's no signs of any injury and he's running every ball. Someone explain this to me," one fan wrote.

"Why are you astonished? Every tough match he pulls this s**t. Every time," another fan asked the fan who posted the previous reaction.

"Painkillers Djokovic is known for exaggerating his injuries. If it was a serious injury he would have retired," another fan commented.

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Novak Djokovic recovered from heat-related struggles to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open

Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Novak Djokovic (R) after the trophy presentation ceremony at the 2023 Cincinnati Open

Novak Djokovic faced Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open for the first time since their 2023 Wimbledon Championships final meeting, which went the Spaniard's way. It looked as if history was set to repeat itself in Cincinnati as Djokovic lost the first set 5-7 and was trailing Alcaraz in the second set 3-4.

Until this point, it seemed as if the Serb was affected by the intense Cincinnati heat. However, Djokovic took control of the contest following one error-riddled service game from Alcaraz. The Serb would go on to take the second and third sets after clinching their respective tiebreaks and won his 39th ATP Masters 1000 title in the process.

Djokovic will next face Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals at the French Open. It would be a rematch of last year's final at Roland Garros, which the Serb won to clinch his 23rd Major.