Just In: Novak Djokovic offers fresh health update as return date confirmed after US Open loss
Novak Djokovic has offered an update on his health after vomiting multiple times and calling the physio during a shock first-round loss at the US Open. The Serbian superstar had never lost his opening match in Flushing Meadows, and had not suffered an opening-round defeat at any Major since the 2006 Australian Open. But that remarkable run came to an end on Sunday night, as he was beaten 7-6(5) 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-1 by Mariano Navone.
What was arguably the most concerning thing was that Djokovic started to feel unwell around 20 minutes into the match. He later spoke of a health issue that had been bothering him in recent years – something he previously touched on at the recent Cincinnati Open, where he also threw up during an opening-round exit.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is already looking ahead and has signed up for the China Open, an ATP 500 event in Beijing, which begins on September 30 – a promising sign that he believes he’ll recover by the end of the month.
And Djokovic has now given a positive update after those worrying scenes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Asked how he was feeling, the world No. 5 told TMZ: “Better. Bit better. A bit better.”
On Sunday night, the 39-year-old said he was “trying” to fix the health issues that had been bothering him. “I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me,” Djokovic declared.
“It’s something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. Vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there. Then my whole body, you know, starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain. The back just gave up in the end and shoulder, and I couldn’t close it out, you know?
I was a break up in the fourth, but just struggled all the way since the fourth game of the match. Again, I don’t want to take too much out of his win. Congrats to him. He’s a nice guy, a fighter. But, you know, I didn’t enjoy myself.”
The four-time former champion in Flushing Meadows also admitted that he considered retiring early on in the match. “But then I won a set and then a third one,” he explained.
“Then I was, like, ‘Okay, maybe there is a chance’. Yeah, I didn’t want to give up in fourth or fifth, so I wanted to kind of finish the match.”
Djokovic is set to fall outside of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2018 following his early US Open exit.
