It must be admitted that some of the scenes from the exchange of parties really look very suspicious. One of them is circulating on social networks, in which Djokovic is gesturing towards his implementation team. It evidently suggests the question of whether something was mixed into the bottle. Then, instead of drinking from the bottle, he inhales from it.
“I wonder what was in that bottle. It was definitely not liquid. And those gestures before he started inhaling? Very strange,” one fan wrote.
I would very much like to know what was in this bottle. It certainly wasn’t liquid, and he gestured to his coach before inhaling it. Very odd. pic.twitter.com/bBG62BOMFh
— Damian Reilly (@DamianReilly) July 5, 2022
But the whole thing probably won’t be a mysterious mystery. The British newspaper Telegraph claims that the Serbian tennis player is one of many on the circuit who uses isotonic powder. It is a common supplement designed to be mixed with water, but a large part of tennis players only use it as a powder without water.
“There’s really no benefit to eating it during a match, I’m sure it’s an isotonic powder. Many players started eating it without water. It must be pretty disgusting in the mouth and throat. So it’s weird that they’re doing it,” an unnamed source told the Telegraph.
Diluting the powder with water is supposed to get rid of the metallic taste of the supplement. Tennis players normally use various energy drinks and bars, especially during long matches.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic during the Wimbledon quarterfinal match.Photo: Toby MelvilleReuters
Djokovic was already asked about the contents of his bottles two years ago at the Australian Open. “Those liquids were magical potions that my physiotherapist prepared in the laboratory,” the Serb said at the time.
Roman Jebavý, the then Davis Cup debutant, faced even harsher accusations about drinking five years ago. While his national team colleague Lukáš Rosol tried in vain to prevent the Czech team from falling into the play-offs in the Netherlands, Jebavý shouted during the exchanges and constantly strengthened himself with a drink in a bottle from Coca Cola, which he also offered to Adam Pavlásk sitting next to him.
The strong suspicion that the sweet drink was diluted with rum was also refuted by the Davis Cup team spokesperson at the time, saying that it was only a mix of cola and salt.
