Often criticized, Novak Djokovic’s mysterious drink is essential to his success.
The magic potion by Toutatis! Novak Djokovic is a tennis legend and that cannot be denied. If the debate will remain eternal on who is the greatest between the Serbian, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer… On the Grand Slam titles, in Masters 1000 and even the ATP 500 tournaments, there is no real debate, the Goat is the Joker. However, Novak Djokovic has never had a very high popularity rating. “Nole” has often been seen as arrogant, cold in his attitude and play with some bloodshed on the field. As a result, each of his actions is analyzed and criticized for several weeks.
One of them was and still is controversial, his “magic drink”. Tennis players must hydrate and eat at each change of sides to maintain their level of play, but very often, and especially when the Serb has less good shots, we see his team preparing a very strange mixture, even playing hide and seek with the cameras in order to keep his recipe secret. If his physiotherapist is nothing like Panoramix and Novak Djokovic in no way resembles a Gaul named Asterix, this potion intrigues and questions observers above all.
During the semi-final of the Paris Bercy tournament in 2022, a viral video made the rounds on social networks, we see Ulises Badio, Serbian physiotherapist, putting his hand in a backpack to grab a bottle of water before you start mixing ingredients. When they realize that they are being filmed, the rest of the staff try to hide this scene before passing the bottle to a ball boy to take to the Serb. In bad shape in the match, Novak Djokovic will finally win after drinking this famous drink… A scene which also occurred during the final of the Australian Open against Dominic Thiem in 2020.
But then what does this drink actually contain? If rumors are rife and social networks have gone wild talking about doping, Novak Djokovic has spoken out on the subject. “The liquids were magic potions that my physiotherapist makes in his lab. That’s all I can say.” However, this drink is not a secret and the ATP spoke out to silence the harsh comments. “Of course, we all prepared recovery drinks or exercise drinks during the matches. As physio, we are often responsible for them. And of course with authorized and stamped products, chosen with the agreement of the doctors” explains a former ATP physiotherapist. According to The Telegraph, Djokovic figure prefers to take unmixed energy supplements or isotonic powder, a mixture with specific properties whose density is close to blood plasma.
Novak Djokovic’s wife stepped up to the plate on social networks, regretting that everything is subject to controversy these days. “I don’t see anything fishy. In fact, I see people trying to keep their affairs private in a world where everyone thinks they have the right to point a camera at you whenever they want. Apparently, want/ trying to be private makes you doubtful these days.”