Novak Djokovic was in a spot of bother during his dramatic three-set win over Tallon Griekspoor at the Paris Masters and explained that he had been troubled by a stomach bug for several days.
The Serbian World No. 1 dropped the first set 6-4 in 47 minutes, with high-flying Griekspoor outperforming him in almost every key metric. The Dutchman recorded three aces to Djokovic's one, won the most points behind his first and second serves, and tallied three times as many winners as his opponent.
It was a catastrophic collapse by Djokovic, who led 4-1 in the set but quickly went into panic mode, throwing unnecessary double faults and losing five games in succession. He immediately called the doctor at the end of the set.
It was a complete contrast to their match in Dubai. Djokovic shed light on his physical struggles after the match and admitted that he had been battling a stomach bug for the past three days.
He explained that he was in the toilet for far more time than on the court in that span. Furthermore, Thursday was the "worst day" of his stomach issue, and he needed some pills to curb the problem midway through the match.
"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. 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 redeemed himself and once the pills entered his veins, he managed to cut down the errors and find his serve again. Djokovic saved all three break points he faced in the second set and won it in a tiebreak.
After losing his lead in the decider, he finished the match winning eight straight points (one break to love, and one service hold to love).
"It’s one of these matches where you just have to accept the circumstances, accept how you feel, and try to hang in the match. Which I’ve done I think. I found the serve in the right moments to get me out of trouble but it was so close, it was probably one shot away from losing the match. But again, that makes this victory mentally for me even more important."
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