Novak Djokovic battled through a stomach issue and required two visits from a doctor during his first-round Wimbledon match on Tuesday night, eventually defeating Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he suddenly went from feeling great to struggling physically midway through the match. “From feeling my absolute best for about a set and a half, I hit my absolute worst for the next 45 minutes,” Djokovic explained. “Not sure if it was a stomach bug, but I definitely felt off. Fortunately, the doctor gave me some miracle pills and I was able to turn it around and close out the match strongly.”

The 38-year-old Serbian improved his record to 20-0 in Wimbledon openers and has reached the final in each of the last six editions of the tournament — though he lost in 2023 and 2024 to Carlos Alcaraz.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe I could win,” Djokovic said. “Grass has really become my best surface in the second half of my career. So I believe I have what it takes to go all the way.”

Despite feeling unwell, Djokovic never considered retiring from the match. “That option wasn’t on the table,” he said.

He was dominant in converting 7 of 27 break points and didn’t allow Muller a break of serve, even when the Frenchman had three chances in the final set — all of which Djokovic saved.

Reflecting on his performance, he said, “I hit some big serves when I needed to. My serve has been an area of focus in training, and it really helped me today.”

Djokovic will next face Britain's Dan Evans on Thursday. His victory helped avoid joining the long list of upsets at this year’s Wimbledon, which has already seen 23 seeded players (13 men and 10 women) eliminated in the first two days — the most since Grand Slam tournaments began seeding 32 players in 2001.