Novak Djokovic looked far less than 100 percent during a Cincinnati Open second-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante on Saturday afternoon. Djokovic started strong, struggled throughout the second set, and raised his level amidst a slightly improved demeanor in the third — but it wasn’t enough to get past Tirante, who prevailed 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In his post-match press conference, the 39-year-old Serb discussed what happened.
“It’s just a condition that I have, health wise, that has been bothering me for the past couple of years,” he commented. “[It causes] a lot of issues, especially when it is humid and it is hot. I did anticipate it [would be humid], but there are all these things, like nerves and everything involved that make it worse — and that’s what happened.”
Count Djokovic among a growing list of top players on the ATP Tour who will head to the U.S. Open as significant question marks — if they play in New York at all. Jannik Sinner (knee) and Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) withdrew from both Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, as did Alexander Bublik. Casper Ruud retired from his opening match in Cincinnati due to an apparent back injury. Felix Auger-Aliassime was unable to play in Montreal because of a back problem but beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday.
Following the biggest win of his career, Tirante will face Martin Landaluce in the third round on Monday.
rough
So whats bothering Novak then is it altitude sickness or something
who knows
Hopefully he’s not developing Cushing’s or some other nasty thing that messes with thermoregulation.