Novak Djokovic: Sudden fatigue just before the French Open - illness worries tennis star

Created: 2022-04-27Updated: 2022-04-27 13:01

By: Tanja Koch

Novak Djokovic would rather not play tennis than be forced to be vaccinated.

© John Walton/AP/dpa

Novak Djokovic is losing his strength on the tennis court again.

He then hints at after-effects of a mysterious illness.

Belgrade – One month before the French Open in Paris, tennis star Novak Djokovic surprisingly lost his home final in Belgrade to Andrei Rublev.

The 34-year-old lost 2: 6, 7: 6 (7: 4), 0: 6.

The tennis star commented on the defeat at a press conference.

The news portal n-tv quoted Novak Djokovic as saying that he had "run out of petrol".

He couldn't explain why exactly.

But he could imagine that it was due to the illness that struck him a few weeks ago.

"It has never happened to me, not even in the early stages of my career, but first in Monte Carlo and then here.

So I think it has to do with the illness I went through, which was a bit tough both physically and health-wise," explains the world number one.

He did not give any more specific information about the disease.

It's not a corona infection, "but it's something that affects my metabolism."

Novak Djokovic: He will "hopefully be ready" by the French Open

The feeling of sudden fatigue did not set in until the end of the second sentence.

The same happened to the tennis star in Monte Carlo.

In a month, however, Novak Djokovic is scheduled to take part in the French Open in Paris.

The competition is "the big goal," he explained on the tennis court, "hopefully I'll be ready by then".

Most recently, the athlete had come into the public eye after refusing a corona vaccination and it was unclear whether he would be allowed to take part in the third Grand Slam tournament of the year from June 27th to July 10th in Wimbledon.

It recently became known that the lack of vaccination is not an obstacle - and Novak Djokovic will start to defend his title. 

French Open 2022

This is the schedule of the Grand Slam tournament

Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), stressed that they would encourage professionals to get vaccinated.

The British government would also no longer require this for entry.

"We plan to return to a normal tournament this year," Bolton said.

"Therefore we will not implement any of the Covid-19 measures of the past year in any substantial form."

(tk)