Novak Djokovic is feeling the heat and humidity like many players during his third-round match against Yannick Hanfmann at the Shanghai Masters. While he ended up winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, before that, his concerning display of physical distress is doing the rounds on the internet.
Midway through the second set, Djokovic was seen walking toward the back of the court to vomit. Moments later, he appeared to throw up again into a towel during the changeover. Jose Moron shared the video on X (formerly Twitter), bringing the brutal conditions at the tournament into focus.
“The image of Djokovic VOMITING on the court today due to the brutal humidity and heat conditions in Shanghai. Incredible that we have to reach this point 😧” the post was captioned.
With humidity levels reaching 90%, several players have been struggling, with some even opting to retire due to unbearable playing conditions. Jannik Sinner suffered severe cramps in his thigh before he chose to retire from his match against Tallon Griekspoor. Previously, the likes of Terrence Atmane, Hamad Medjedovic and Yibing Wu were also forced to retire for more or less the same reason.
Novak Djokovic testifies to “brutal” conditions in Shanghai
After his third-round win, Novak Djokovic was blunt when asked about the conditions in Shanghai. He called them “brutal,” citing the extreme humidity levels exceeding 80%.
“I’ve been saying it before, it’s the same for every player that steps out on the court, but it’s brutal,” Djokovic said. “It’s brutal when you have over 80 per cent humidity day after day for the guys. It’s brutal when you have over 80 per cent humidity day after day for the guys.
“Particularly when they are playing during the day with heat, with sun, it’s even more brutal. It is what it is, you just have to deal with it. For me, biologically a bit more challenging to deal with it.”
However, Novak Djokovic chose not to focus on the condition too much. He believes he can keep going.
“You just have to accept it and deal with it,” he added during the post match conference. “There is a lot of sweating. The laundry bills will be quite high this week, but that’s okay. Hopefully, I can keep it going.”
On the bright side, with Carlos Alcaraz not playing due to an ankle injury and Jannik Sinner already out of the tournament, Novak Djokovic stands a good chance of emerging as the winner in Shanghai this year.
alt=”Krutik Jain” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by Krutik Jain
