Novak Djokovic says he suffered ‘physical’ problems in Paris Masters win

Novak Djokovic has suggested he was feeling unwell during his Paris Masters win over Karen Khachanov.

Djokovic was visibly having difficulty cooling down during the match, which he won 6-4, 6-1 to book a quarter-final clash with Lorenzo Musetti.

However, he first had to overcome some fitness issues that contributed to Khachanov levelling the first set at 4-4 from 0-3 down.

“No, I didn’t need to find the rhythm,” Djokovic said when quizzed by reporters after the match. “The rhythm was there.

“I was 3-0 up but I was not feeling my best physically in the first set for some reason. Kind of sweating a lot, and just, I don’t know, just happens, you know, sometimes.

“You have to go through it and find a way, which is what happened. You know, I managed to hold my service games and put pressure on his service games.

“I was more or less in every service game of his, 0-30, breakpoints, played a very good, I think, couple of points at that 10th game of the first set. Broke his resistance.

“Then the second set was different. Different feeling. I felt better. Served better. Then of course life is easy on the court when you’re feeling better.”

Novak Djokovic is the defending champion at the Paris Masters after he beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final.

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