Novak Djokovic’s use of medical timeouts was questioned during his first-round win at Wimbledon.
After four sets of action, Djokovic defeated Alexandre Muller to book his place in the second round of Wimbledon.
He didn’t have things all his own way, however, as Djokovic struggled with a stomach issue during the third set, taking a medical timeout.
As the Serb pulled through, winning the third and fourth sets 6-2, 6-2, the questions surrounding Djokovic’s remarkable ability to recover from injury resurfaced.
Over the years, many have criticized Djokovic for his use of medical timeouts, sometimes suggesting they aren’t necessary.
One of the 38-year-old’s fellow ATP stars, Nick Kyrgios, has now weighed in with his thoughts, adding fuel to the fire.
Nick Kyrgios says Novak Djokovic takes medical timeouts at Grand Slams to ‘rattle’ his opponents
During the latest episode of ‘Wimbledon Unfiltered with Nick Kyrgios’, the Aussie gave his verdict on Djokovic’s medical timeouts.
“Honestly, I think that he does it sometimes early on in Slams to mess with his opponents, to be honest,” said Kyrgios.
“There’s no doubt that sometimes he’s definitely carrying something or feeling something, we all do. But with [Novak] Djokovic, he likes the theatrics.
“It was one set all in his first round, and then he calls the doctors and all this type of stuff.”
Kyrgios highlighted the effect Djokovic’s medical timeouts have on his opponents, explaining how it can leave them ‘rattled’.
“His opponent starts looking over, starts saying, maybe I’ve got a real chance of winning here,” he said.
“All of a sudden, he just dials back in and destroys you.
“It just gets your opponent thinking about something else, instead of thinking internally what he needs to do, now he’s thinking about Djokovic feeling his stomach or something else.
“I think Djokovic does that sometimes to rattle his opponents, but look, it works. When you’ve won 24 Grand Slams, it clearly works, and it worked again for him.”
Djokovic has asked for medical time-outs at various Grand Slam tournaments over the years, and as Kyrgios mentioned, it’s clearly been working well.
Only time will tell if Djokovic’s fitness holds up through the remainder of the tournament, as he searches for Grand Slam number 25.
Novak Djokovic’s injury history
The stomach problem Djokovic encountered in the third set against Muller likely won’t affect him again, but how many injuries has he suffered over the years?
Like any player aged 38, Djokovic has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years, some more significant than others.
Djokovic suffered his first major injury in 2017, when he retired in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon with an elbow issue.
The injury saw Djokovic shut down his 2017 season in July, before returning to action ahead of the 2018 Australian Open.
There, Djokovic suffered a shock fourth-round defeat to South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, as elbow issues continued to trouble him.
Choosing to have his elbow surgically repaired, Djokovic continued to struggle, losing early at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Finally returning to winning ways, the Serb was back to his best at Wimbledon as he won the title, putting his elbow troubles behind him.
Since 2018, Djokovic hasn’t missed too much time with injury, although that’s not to say he’s had a perfect bill of health.
On three occasions, Djokovic withdrew from Grand Slams due to injury, missing out on chances to add to his major tally.
- 2019 US Open 4R – Novak Djokovic retired injured against Stan Wawrinka (Shoulder)
- 2024 French Open QF – Novak Djokovic retired before the match (Knee)
- 2025 Australian Open SF – Novak Djokovic retired injured against Alexander Zverev (Abdominal)
Earlier this year, Djokovic retired against Alexander Zverev, one set into their semi-final match at the Australian Open.
The 38-year-old will certainly hope to avoid the same fate at the All England Club, as he looks to bring home a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic will return to the court for his third-round match against Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday, July 5.
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