Novak Djokovic has credited a doctor’s ‘miracle pills’ for helping him to battle through an illness during his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday night.
The Serbian star asked for a doctor to be called to the court shortly after losing the second set of the match to France’s Alexandre Muller.
Djokovic had appeared visibly unwell and after discussions during a medical time out, was given a tablet by the doctor to ease his symptoms.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion was then able to seize control of the match, breaking Muller’s impressive resistance.
Djokovic won 10 of the final 12 games following his medical time out, ultimately wrapped up a 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-2 victory.
When asked in his on court interview about the illness, Djokovic suggested he may have been suffering from a stomach bug.
Novak Djokovic appeared visibly unwell during his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday
The Serbian star was given a tablet by the tournament doctor to ease his symptoms
Djokovic was seen discussing his symptoms with the doctor at the start of the third set
Djokovic had credited the doctor’s ‘miracle pills’ for helping him to fight through to the second round.
‘I went from feeling my absolutely best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes,’ Djokovic said.
‘Whether it was a stomach bug – I don’t know what it is, but just struggled with that.
‘The energy kind of kicked back after some doctor’s miracle pills and I managed to finish the match on a good note.’
Despite Djokovic appearing visibly hampered by illness, some fans queried the extent of the issue with the medical time out coming just minutes after losing the second set.
‘Textbook Djokovic “I’m not playing great so I’ll take a medical timeout even though there’s no signs of me being remotely injured” move to make sure he gets the crowd back on side and acting like he’s playing on against all the odds,’ one fan wrote.
‘Every time I watch a Djokovic match that he’s losing, or is tight, he calls on the on court doctor,’ another added. ‘Saw him do it multiple times. Can’t have him at all. Medical time outs to halt opponents momentum.’
A third added: ‘Djokovic in “shock” loses a set and immediately calls a medical timeout followed by securing a double break. How many times does he do that?’
Djokovic admitted he had gone from feeling his best to ‘absolute worst’ for 45 minutes
The Serbian star suggested he had been suffering from a stomach bug during the match
Djokovic’s use of ‘miracle pills’ also generated discussion from fans on social media.
‘”I think a lot of people would like to know what these doctors miracle pills are” is quite a line to Novak,’ one fan wrote, referencing a question by the on court interviewer.
‘Djokovic references “miracle pills from the doctor”, which generally happens when things aren’t going his way. Everyone laughs. Interviewer jokes about it. Staggering this has been accepted without question for so long,’ another fan added.
It is not the first time in his long career Djokovic has created debate, after previously claiming he had been drinking a ‘magical potion’ when asked by journalists in 2022.
The questioning followed Djokovic appearing to breathe in the contents of a drink during Wimbledon that year.
While some also queried Djokovic’s description of ‘miracle pills’, others defended the Serbian by claiming it was merely a phrase to highlight how it had helped to ease his symptoms.
‘He always calls that miracle pills in this case Novak was sick and those pills calmed his stomach pain fast that’s why he called it miracle pills,’ one fan wrote.
Djokovic had also been seen in discussion with the doctor during the next changeover during the match in the third set.
The discussion took place while Muller had his own medical timeout due to an apparent calf issue.
Djokovic ultimately battled through to beat Alexandre Muller in four sets in the first round
His pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam title will continue against Dan Evans in the second round
Djokovic’s eventual four set victory saw the 38-year-old, who is targeting a record 25th Grand Slam title, set up a second round encounter with Britain’s Dan Evans.
Djokovic admitted post-match that Wimbledon represents his best chance of adding to his haul, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner having established themselves as the leading duo in recent Grand Slams.
‘I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I have a chance. I think I always have a chance,’ Djokovic added.
‘I think I earned my right to really feel like I can go all the way to the title’
‘I always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis. So why not do it again?’
