The Sydney Morning Herald
Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat to Holger Rune in the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday. However, a secret drink given to the Serbian by his team during the previous match is what has the tennis world talking.
Midway through Djokovic's semifinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, video footage shows the Serbian's physio, Ulises Badio, mixing him a drink in the stands, with another member of his team moving to block the camera's view of what was happening.
Badio then signaled to a ball girl to take the mystery drink to Djokovic while he was resting between games.
The incident has raised questions about the contents of the drink, including from veteran tennis writer Ben Rothenberg, who called it "strange."
"The body language in this video is bizarre. What does the Djokovic team think needs hiding?" tweeted Rothenberg.
"I don't think there should be secret substances being ingested during competition. I'm accusing no one of anything here, but what an incredibly suspicious way to start acting when you suddenly notice that you're being filmed."
—Damian Reilly (@DamianReilly) November 6, 2022
This isn't the first time questions have been raised about Djokovic's drinks.
At this year's Wimbledon, Djokovic appeared to inhale from a water bottle during his quarterfinal victory over Jannik Sinner.
Later asked about the contents of the bottle, the 22-time Grand Slam champion refused to elaborate and described the drink as a "magic potion."
—Damian Reilly (@DamianReilly) July 5, 2022
"I said you will find out soon, but not so soon," Djokovic said.
"It's going to come out as one of the supplement, let's say, [product] lines that I'm doing right now with drink and few other things, sports drinks."
Joking with a reporter, he added: "You'll try it, and you'll let me know how it feels. You might win Wimbledon."
Getty/Mustafa Yalcin
Secret drink or no secret drink, Djokovic couldn't stop Rune from pulling off the biggest win of his career on Sunday.
Rune, 19, came from one set down to beat Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and claim his first ATP Masters title.
Both players had kind words for each other after the match.
"I'm not happy that you beat me, but on the other hand I'm happy for you because I like your personality, you're a very dedicated guy who loves tennis," Djokovic said of Rune.
"You've put in a lot of hours of hard work, it's paying off for you and your future is bright."
Rune told Djokovic: "You're one of my favorite players, I've watched you since you were a kid. It's a pleasure to share the court with you."
