“I get stomach bugs like everyone else” – How dizzy, deyhdrated Djokovic broke records while eating only one meal a day

Novak Djokovic has had a few days of struggle at this week’s Rolex Paris Masters, and told reporters after winning the title that the stomach bug that has created the problems has left him weak, dizzy and dehydrated.

“Hydration is the key, I think, for anything, really,” he said when asked for his advice on how to treat similar illnesses.

“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! So that’s, yeah, 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.

“So that’s what kind of helped me to have extra, I think, extra push, extra energy this week. But I experience the stomach bugs like anybody else.”

Djokovic: People expect me to always be at my best

Asked to reflect on the impact of his title win despite his illness, the Serb said: “On a given day you have to encounter different things. You know, people expect you to always be at your best, to be, you know, always reaching the finals, I mean in my case.

“I’m glad that that’s the case, you know, that people kind of see me as one of the main favourites in every single tournament. But at the same time, you know, we are also human beings that have to deal with different things off the court, whether it’s health-wise, emotions, or whatever is happening in your private life.

“So all of it has an effect on how you feel on the court and how you perform. Yeah, I tried to do my very best this week and I think I have done under the circumstances. Did I play my best tennis? I don’t think I played my best tennis. In every match actually, my level was not to the level that I normally would play the biggest tournaments.

“But, you know, it’s one of those weeks where you just have to accept the circumstances and fight to survive another day.”

You might also like this

“I’m very proud of this one” – Djokovic champion in Paris for seventh time

tennis majors

Title No 7 : How Djokovic, who “grew up indoors”, has become the Paris Master at Bercy

tennis majors

Djokovic: “I hope Nadal and I will have a drink on some beach, some day, to talk about life”

tennis majors