Novak Djokovic confessed that he has “spent more time on the toilet seat than on the court the last three days” after coming back from a set down to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 at the Rolex Paris Masters. The world No 1 caused concern when he called the doctor after dropping the first set and admitted that Thursday was the worst day so far of his stomach bug. He also had some choice words for the crowd after being booed towards the end of the match.
Djokovic came back from the brink to advance to the quarter-final in Paris-Bercy after finding himself five points from defeat in the second set. There was concern when the six-time former champion started throwing in some double faults, losing five games in a row after leading 4-1 in the first set and calling the doctor.
He was in more trouble when Griekspoor had two break points at 4-4 in the second set, which would have given him the chance to serve for the match. But the world No 1 battled it out and managed to come out on top, keeping his quest for a 97th career title – and seventh in Bercy – alive.
After the match, Djokovic confirmed that he had been struggling with a stomach bug for several days. “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,” he said after the two-hour and 39-minute match.
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The 36-year-old also admitted that Thursday had been the worst day so far of his illness and hoped that things would start to improve. He continued: “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 knew that a few points would have seen him crash out but he took it as an important win. “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,” he explained.
“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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Djokovic also addressed the crowd as he was booed when he clapped them after getting broken on a double fault to level at 4-4 in the decider. The top seed didn’t lose another point after the incident, breaking and serving out the match to love.
“I don’t know, what do you think?” the 24-time Major champion said when asked whether the crowd gave him a boost. “When I asked them to boo a bit more then I won eight points in a row so I guess that was good. Was it me doing it on purpose or the public, what do you think? Equal? Well I completely disagree with you. I think I didn’t do anything to provoke the public, absolutely anything. But it is what it is.”
Asked whether the Parisian fans were special, Djokovic smiled and replied: “That’s a good word, very special, yeah. Very, very special. It’s very special.”
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