Novak Djokovic lifts lid on his Paris health scare – ‘You feel dizzy, dehydrated and weak’
Novak Djokovic has revealed the severity of the stomach bag that threatened to ruin his run to the Paris Masters title last week as he explained how he refused to “fold and retire”.
The world No 1 completed another incredible tournament at Paris-Bercy as he won a record-extending seventh trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament despite struggling health-wise.
Djokovic first confirmed that he was feeling under the weather after his three-set win over Tallon Griekspoor last Thursday as he admitted: “Itâs hard to have a clear mind when you spent more time on the toilet seat than on the court the last three days.
He added: “Just the energy levels were very low the last few days and Iâm taking it day by day. Today is probably the worst day so Iâm just hoping that tomorrow will be better, that the curve will start going in the right direction for me.”
It was a similar story for his matches against Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev, but by Sunday he finally started to feel better and it was clear to see on court that he was over the worst as he defeated Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the final.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic makes honest confession about what stage of his career he is in
After the match Djokovic was asked by a journalist for some tips on how to recover from a stomach virus as his wife was struggling with one and the 24-time Grand Slam winner replied with a smile on his face: “I’m not a doctor so I’m unable to give medical advice.
“I guess, you know, everyone is different, but, you know, for me hydration is the key, I think, for anything, really. I can’t talk on behalf of your wife or anybody else, you know, what kind of diet helps or doesn’t help.
“You know, I couldn’t eat much really these days, so I probably would eat only once in a day, and then I wouldn’t eat anything. Just be on liquids, because anything that I, you know, would put in my mouth, it would go out very quickly (smiling).
“And then of course you feel dizzy, you feel dehydrated all the time. You feel weak.
“But I guess, you know, for a professional athlete, once you are out on the court, it’s basically very clear. Either you let the circumstances and the feelings that you have at that moment master you or you try to master them in a way. So there’s no in between.
“So you either fold, retire, or just, you know, kind of give away the match, or you try to draw the energy from the adrenaline that you’re feeling from the crowd, from the momentum that you’re feeling on the court.
“That’s what kind of helped me to have extra, I think, extra push, extra energy this week.
“I experience the stomach bugs like anybody else. Maybe for me it lasted shorter than for your wife, I’m not sure, but it was three, four days of big struggle. So Sunday was the first day that I have been actually feeling that it’s behind me.
“Sorry I couldn’t give any medicine advice or, you know, the cures. There is no cure, I guess (smiling).”
