Pause, rest, reset, restart! Novak Djokovic is often accused of taking medical timeouts and toilet breaks in between matches to disrupt his opponents’ rhythm in the matches. There is no hidden about that! Djokovic has himself admitted it as his ‘secret weapon’ in times of some real danger. During a previous interview, the Serb revealed, “You mainly use this moment to reset yourself mentally, changing your environment. Even if it’s a short break, you can have a few deep breaths and come back as a new player.” Several players have spoken about his notorious tactics in the past, now Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti joins that list!

Lorenzo Musetti has faced Novak Djokovic eight times in his career. Throughout these meetings, there have been some moments when he gifted the Serb a really tough time on the courts. However, there was a moment from their first meeting at the 2021 French Open that literally deprived him of causing a major upset. What was it? Speaking about his R16 match at the 2021 French Open, Lorenzo Musetti recalled how Djokovic broke his rhythm by taking a toilet break at a crucial juncture of the match.

During a recent interview with Talking Tennis, the Italian spoke about the real difference in his first two encounters with Novak Djokovic. “I have to say the first one I was only 19. It was my first appearance in the Grand Slam where I made the fourth round and second week of the Roland Garros. Playing Nole in such a big stage as Philippe-Chatrier. He was number one in the world. I was leading two sets to love against him and I remember he took like a toilet break and immediately I start to think and that was probably the biggest mistake that I ever made.” Musetti was later forced to retire from that match due to a niggle.

Reflecting on how that stop and start impacted his game, Musetti added, “I started you know to go through the two sets that I was leading two sets to love and all the adrenaline that I had and that was probably the freedom that I had on the court of express myself as my probably best tennis, you know, immediately disappeared. Because the adrenaline dropped down!” Lorenzo Musetti explained how he got tired and suffered a lot of niggles in the later stages of the match. “So, he (Djokovic) probably took the chance, and then at the end, I lost in the fifth set.” Musetti felt he really had more chances to win that match than in any of his previous meetings against Djokovic. However, Musetti claimed, “He (Novak) broke the rhythm of the match and that was probably his goal.”

Is Musetti the only one to complain about Novak Djokovic’s notorious ‘secret weapon’? Well, the answer is a big NO! In that same tournament, when Djokovic faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, we heard a similar complaint from the Greek. The Serb was yet again trailing by two sets in the mega final when he went off the court only to return to take the next three sets and win the title at the 2021 French Open. After the match, Tsitsipas spoke about Djokovic’s toilet break at the crucial moment of the match saying, “I don’t know what happened there, but he came back, to me, like a different player, suddenly.”

This is a tactic Djokovic often uses to break the rhythm of his opponents and even one among the ‘Big 4’ has witnessed this very closely. In the finals of the 2015 AO, Andy Murray looked a bit frustrated seeing Novak Djokovic taking such breaks in the pivotal moment of the epic clash. The Brit was later heard saying, “Don’t worry about him. He does it all the time.” Clearly, he wasn’t too pleased with all these things!  Here are some of the popular reactions from the man himself on his infamous toilet breaks!

“My guardian angels are there” – Novak Djokovic on turning things around successfully after toilet breaks

After hearing Stefanos Tsitsipas’ reaction to Novak Djokovic’s toilet break in the final of the 2021 French Open, a journalist asked the Serb what he did during his toilet break that made things turn around so quickly. Djokovic hilariously responded, “My angels are there. My guardian angels are there. I have my special corner. It’s a secret. I can’t reveal the secret. It’s been working for me pretty well.”

Then even in the QF of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, this ‘toilet-break’ topic surrounding Novak Djokovic popped up in the headlines. He beat Jannik Sinner in that match 5-7,2-6,6-3,6-2,6-2 in three hours and thirty-five minutes. One thing you’ve already noticed here perhaps, even in this match Djokovic lost his first two sets! How did he manage to make a comeback in this match?

While replying to the same question, Novak Djokovic revealed, “I went out, had a little bit of refreshment, toilet break and a little pep talk in the mirror. The toilet break was the turning point.” There have been several such moments in his entire career, but there was a time when we saw Novak Djokovic slamming a renowned media house on this ‘toilet break’ controversy. What are your thoughts on Nole’s ‘secret weapon’? Do you think it’s fair to take these types of breaks at crucial points? Share your thoughts in the comments section.