Djokovic suffered an unexpected defeat in the final of the Paris tournament from the 19-year-old talent Rune, for whom it was already the second triumph this month, the first at the Masters tournament. Although the Danish youngster lost the first set in 36 minutes, he broke the Serb at the beginning of the second set and forced a decisive third set, in which he finally avoided six break points and came away with the victory.
During the thrilling final match, a video started circulating on social networks, which angered the fans of the former Serbian world number one more than his final loss. He captures Djokovic’s physiotherapist, Ulises Badia, preparing him a mysterious drink during the semi-final match with Tsitsipas.
Badio begins to mix mysterious ingredients into a water bottle in the audience, while one of Djokovic’s team members turns his back to the camera so as not to see what Badio is doing. Once the “potion” is ready, it travels through the ball collector to the Serbian tennis player.
“Can someone who knows tennis explain to me what’s going on here and why it’s being done this way?” journalist Damian Reilly asks on Twitter about the incriminating video. According to him, it looks very suspicious, with which the fans in comments.
Some believe that there may be a prohibited substance in the drink. Others support Djokovic. “Do you really think if they wanted to dope players they would do it in a crowd in front of TV cameras?” they write.
It’s not the first time Djokovic has stirred passions with what he consumes on the court. He inhaled from a bottle during Wimbledon. Back then, it was an ordinary isotonic powder that many tennis players use in a mix with water, but it can also be consumed without it.
