Watch: Djokovic gasps for breath, shakes uncontrollably in ‘grueling battle’ vs Medvedev

Novak Djokovic maintained his unbeaten run in the ATP finals after beating Daniil Medvedev in the round-robin stage match. The Serbian defeated the former world no 1  6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(2) in a grueling clash to top the standings in the Red Group. However, beating Medvedev proved to be a tough battle which took a lot out of Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic struggles with health issues against Daniil Medvedev

In a video which has gone viral the hands of the 21-time Grand Slam champion can be seen shaking as he raises a towel to his face during the changeover in the deciding set. According to a Eurosport report during the post-match press conference, Djokovic was questioned about his health to which the Serbian said “I didn’t feel physically so well in the third set to be honest, I struggled a lot to stay physically there. It’s a battle, it’s a fight, I’m really proud of being able to find the last drop of energy and necessary focus in order to come back into the match."

Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev match highlights 

The Wimbledon Champion (Djokovic) started the match strongly as he managed to hold on to his service games to finally found a break in the eighth game. Djokovic led the first set 5-3 before comfortably closing the set by clinching the ninth game to take the set 6-3. He was expected to carry forwards the same momentum but Medvedev staged a remarkable comeback in the second set. The Russian never gave an opportunity to Djokovic to break him taking the set into the tie-breaker. Medvedev managed to win the tiebreaker and the match to the third set. 

The final set was a tight one with Medvedev managing to break the Serbian to take a 5-4 lead. However, Djokovic who is aiming to tie Roger Federer’s record of six ATP finals title staged a comeback. Medvedev was unable to hold his serve as Djokovic broke him back and took the contest into the tie-break yet again. This time, it was the seventh seed who prevailed to earn his 40th tour-level win of the season after three hours and five minutes.