Novak Djokovic wasn't feeling completely fit during his first-round match at the 2025
Wimbledon Championships.
Djokovic faced a difficult task on Wimbledon's Centre Court. Minutes after
Arthur Rinderknech stunned the third-seeded Alexander Zverev, the Serbian had to take on another dangerous Frenchman, Alexandre Muller.
Early in the match, however, the 24-time Grand Slam champion wasn't bothered by his opponent at all. Djokovic had break points in every single one of his opponent's service games, and even though he didn't use three chances to break in the opening game, he used his first chance in every following game to win the first set 6-1.
It was a very convincing first-set win for Djokovic, but the second set was much less convincing from the 38-year-old. He couldn't use any of his 11 break-point chances and didn't even convert two set points in a tie-break, which he lost 7-9.
In the third set, Djokovic requested to see a doctor, who came and provided him with some pills. After that, the seven-time Wimbledon champion started flying around the court once again, winning the match 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2.
Naturally, despite his easy win after solving the issue, the issue itself was what everyone was interested in after the Serbian's match. Djokovic was asked about the problem immediately during his on-court interview.
He explained that he felt really well at the start of the match, but then, during the second set, he felt really badly. That's why he took some "miracle pills" from the doctor, which helped him to solve the issue, which was likely related to his stomach.
"I went from feeling my absolutely best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes. 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."
During the on-court interview, Djokovic was also asked whether he believes he could win his 25th Grand Slam title at this year's Wimbledon Championships. The 38-year-old provided an answer worthy of a great champion that he is, explaining that he wouldn't even travel to London if he didn't believe he could win.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance. I think I always have a chance. 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?"
Djokovic will face another tricky player in the second round of the tournament. Facing a home player is always tricky at Grand Slams, but that is especially true for Wimbledon, as British players are among the best players on grass.
Daniel Evans will be Djokovic's opponent, and the British player knows how it feels to beat the Serbian. In fact, he won in their only previous meeting at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters.