What’s wrong with Novak Djokovic? Alarming health issues emerge again in China
Novak Djokovic’s fighting spirit shone through as he entertained the crowds in Beijing in his opening two matches at the China Open, but an all-too familiar problem rose to the surface once again for the Serbian legend.
Djokovic admitted after defeats ins opening matches at the Cincinnati Open and US Open that he has been suffering with physical problems on court for some time and that was in evidence again during his opening two matches in the Chinese capital.
He found a way to come through against Nuno Borges and then battled back from the brink of defeat against Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete, but the early signs in both matches raised alarm bells.
Djokovic looked anguished as he continually glanced at his box and questioned why he was feeling so bad on court, even though the matches were at their formative stages.
The conditions should not have been challenging for Djokovic and playing a best-of-three-set match was also in his favour, as opposed to the five set marathon at a Grand Slam tournament.
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Yet Djokovic looked drained of energy early on in both matches and had to summon up all his battling qualities to plot a route to victory.
The 24-time Grand Slam-winning legend will take comfort from the reality he found his feet in both matches and curiously, he looked stronger at the end of both matches than he did in the formative stages of the matches.
“It’s fascinating how Djokovic stabilised physically and almost got stronger as the match went on,” declared former British player Colin Flemming, commentating on Sky Sports.
“He looked vulnerable in the first set and Bu took advantage, but Novak seemed to find a way to come back.”
Tennis legend John McEnroe also commented on Djokovic’s fading physical powers after he lost in the opening round of the US Open against Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
“On the one hand, you figure okay, it’s obviously catching up to him as it does with every athlete at some point,” declared McEnroe, as he spoke at a Eurosport and HBO Max event.
“Then on the other hand, he’s had an incredible run. He beat (Jannik) Sinner in Australia (in January), got to the finals, won the first set against Carlos Alcaraz and played well.
“Then he got to the semis at Wimbledon, had a great win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round before.
“That said to me that coming into the US Open, he was probably the third or fourth best player in the world. So what we saw in the first round was shocking.
“Father Time, as they say, is undefeated. It’s just one of those things.
“I don’t know what’s going on with him, you know, the heat and humidity. That was something that was that that can be an issue for anyone. This heat and humidity. It wasn’t unbelievably hot.
“So I don’t know what’s gonna happen next. I’m sure that you know he’s thinking hard about what’s next, but at the same time, I don’t think he’d want to go out that way, the way you know what happened. So
“I just don’t know what he’s gonna do, honestly. Whatever makes him happy is what he should do.”
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The huge support Djokovic received in his win against Bu, even though he was playing a Chinese player in Beijing, will give the Serbian so much encouragement as he looks to drain a few more titles out of his career.
His fatigue issues have to be a concern, but you should never write off a champion as great as Novak Djokovic.
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