Novak Djokovic makes alarming admission about his health after Paris scare

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Novak Djokovic in action
Novak Djokovic of Serbia looks dejected during his tennis match

Novak Djokovic was full of praise for Tallon Griekspoor after their Paris Masters clash, but he also revealed that he “ran out of steam” as he “spent more time on the toilet seat than on the court” the past few days.

After starting his tournament with a comfortable victory over Tomas Etcheverry on Wednesday, Djokovic nearly came unstuck against Griekspoor in the third round a day later.

The Dutchman won the opening set and also had several break point opportunities in the second set, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner toughed it out and managed to emerge with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory despite being sick.

After the match, he admitted that he was quite lucky at times against the world No 23.

“I don’t want to take anything away from his performance. He didn’t drop the level,” Djokovic said. “Maybe in the third set a few games he did a bit, but he was playing at a very high level and credit to him for that performance. If he would be the winner tonight, it would be absolutely deserved.

“I started off well but I ran out of steam. I’ve been struggling the last couple of days with my stomach and I just didn’t feel myself at all. I was just trying to hold my serve and get to a tie-break, which happened in the second.

“I got lucky on a couple of shots there. It could have easily gone his way, but overall I played a good tie-break and I started to feel better in the third. I’m really, really glad to overcome this challenge.”

But it wasn’t just any old stomach bug as the world No 1 was forced to spend a lot of time in the toilet and it left him drained before and during the match.

He later revealed: “Well it’s hard to have a clear mind when you spent more time on the toilet seat than on the court the last three days.

The Serbian added: “Just the energy levels were very low the last few days and I’m taking it day by day. Today is probably the worst day so I’m just hoping that tomorrow will be better, that the curve will start going in the right direction for me.”

Djokovic won’t have much time to recover as he will be back on court on Friday when he takes on defending champion Holger Rune, who beat him in last year’s final, in the quarter-final.

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