Novak Djokovic played with a three-centimetre (1.2 inch) tear in his hamstring during his run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Wednesday.

The Serb, who suffered the hamstring injury en route to winning the warm-up title in Adelaide, won the season-opening major after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final for a men’s record 22nd grand slam title, matching Rafael Nadal’s haul.

“This guy I did see, he had a three-centimetre tear in his hammy,” Tiley told SEN Sportsday. “Absolutely. I saw the scans. The doctors are going to tell you the truth.

“There was a lot of speculation about whether it was true or not, it’s hard to believe that they can do what they do with those kinds of injuries. He’s remarkable, to deal with it extremely professionally.”

Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic said after the final that the world No.1 battled the injury, which would have forced most players to quit.

“He’s so focused on everything he does, with every single minute of the day,” Tiley added. “That’s what he eats, what he drinks, when he does it, how he does it.

“There’s no breakdown or mental breakdown in anything that he does. He’s been through a lot and to win 10 Australian Opens, I don’t think that’s ever going to be repeated... He’ll hold a significant place in the history of the Australian Open.”

Djokovic injured his left leg in Adelaide and did not look good during the opening three encounters in Melbourne. His entire team gave their best to prepare him for the upcoming challenges, and his leg felt fine in the second week. Djokovic stormed over Alex de Minaur to enter the last eight and gave Andrey Rublev no chance en route to the semi-final.

Never losing in Melbourne after passing the quarter-final stage, Djokovic gained confidence and pushed strong toward his tenth trophy at Rod Laver Arena. The Serb beat Tommy Paul in the semi-final, dominating sets two and three and setting the title clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

After winning the Australian Open, Djokovic admitted that he was bothered by some of the comments that were made about his hamstring injury. He had said he would provide details in the upcoming days.

There were rumours that Djokovic was “faking” or “exaggerating” his injury. The Serb had shot back that he was unfairly questioned by the press while “some other” players were not.