A distressed Novak Djokovic has come clean about a health condition he has concealed after collapsing at the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champ fell to his knees and called for treatment while struggling in the punishing heat and humidity.
The veteran refused to retire, but was visibly below the physical condition he showed when winning the opening set of the second-round match.
Argentine Thiago Tirante eventually wore him down in the wilting conditions to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Sunday’s battle, which extended more than two and a half hours, was Djokovic’s first match since he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals more than a month ago.
The 39-year-old claimed the opening set with little fuss.
He won a brutal 18-minute third game of the second, saving four break points over nine deuces but bending over in distress between points and even dropping to his hands and knees after one particularly gruelling exchange.
Djokovic took a medical timeout after that game, with the trainer and then a doctor coming on court to assist with assessments and ice towels.
After Tirante took the second set, both players cooled off in the locker room. Slightly revived, Djokovic set the pace again in the deciding set.
But it all went wrong in the ninth game, when Djokovic saved three break points before getting it wrong on a drop shot to bring up a fourth break chance that his opponent converted.
Tirante clinched the biggest win of his career in the next game as Djokovic again failed to land a drop shot on match point.
The Serb, who must now try to regroup before the US Open starts on August 30, admitted he might have played his last match in Cincy.
“It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately, to play here,” he said, confirming that the sweltering weather got the better of him.
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things,” he said.
“Everything involved makes it worse.”
There were scary scenes when Djokovic appeared to vomit into a towel while sitting in his chair.
The three-time Cincinnati champion was even more honest speaking to international reporters after the match where he revealed he has been managing an undisclosed health condition for multiple years.️
“First and foremost, I congratulate my opponent today,” he said.
“Honestly, it hasn’t been a pleasant match for me. That’s how I’ve felt. It hasn’t been the first time, and it won’t be the last. That’s just how it is.
“The conditions aren’t the problem. It’s because of a health issue I have. I’ve been dealing with it for many years now. It causes me a lot of problems, especially when there’s a lot of humidity and heat.
“I️ knew these conditions were going to affect me, but there are other things too: the nerves and everything that comes with a match like this. All of that makes the situation worse, and that’s what happened.”
Elsewhere, Seventh seed Flavio Cobolli, runner-up at the French Open, defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Martin Landaluce beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach a third-round clash against Tirante.
In the WTA draw, Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala advanced to the third round 6-1, 3-0 as injured Elena-Gabriela Rusequit their match during a weather delay.
The Romanian had received treatment on her right ankle just before play was halted by a thunderstorm.
During the 90-minute delay, Ruse pulled the plug on her effort, sending ninth seed Eala through.
Eala, the emerging WTA star who captured her first WTA title in Washington this month, will next play Amanda Anisimova after the American ninth seed beat Turk Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-3.
