More concerns surrounding top tennis stars at the 2025 AO. Just a few moments ago we saw Naomi Osaka calling in the physio during her third-round match against Belinda Bencic. A few minutes later, we saw her withdrawing from that epic encounter. Now, concerns looming for Novak Djokovic. Currently, the Serb is taking on the Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the third round of 2025. He clinched the first set quite comfortably by 6-1. However, Machac made a strong comeback in the second set. Amid all these, we saw Djokovic calling for a medical time-out. What happened to him?

Doctors were seen checking the Serb. Is it a reflux, stomach issue, or a nausea problem? Well, as per the reports, Novak Djokovic was seen having a little trouble breathing properly and this might be because of some nausea. So, nothing serious to worry about! However, this isn’t the first time that we saw Novak Djokovic suffering a bit from his health issues during his match against Tomas Machac.

Novak Djokovic has faced Tomas Machac two times in his career. He won their first encounter in Dubai in 2023, but Machac got the upper hand in Geneva in 2024. In that SF match, the Czech superstar defeated Djokovic 6-4,0-6,6-1. During that match, we also saw Novak Djokovic struggling a bit with some stomach issues. What really happened to him at that time?

Well, Novak Djokovic had to call the doctor onto the court during a medical timeout at the end of the first set. During that moment, we even saw his hands shaking a bit as he drank liquid supplements from a bottle during the break. He was clearly not 100% in that match and Djokovic was also seen venting out his frustration on that situation by shouting, “What else can happen, really, is it not enough?“

After that match, he even admitted that he had a “terrible feeling with stomach and health today…it was not a great night and today as well.” What was Machac’s reaction after clinching that famous victory, though?

“I have no reaction right now” – Tomas Machac lost his words after his famous win against Novak Djokovic

Machac won the first set, but Novak Djokovic came back strongly in the second one. However, despite his valiant efforts to get back in that SF match in Geneva, he lost the third set to Machac. This was one of the biggest victories in Tomas Machac’s career and what did he say after that match? “I have no reaction right now. You just fight for every ball and hope when you’re playing against Novak… you just hope… you try to play your best and see what it looks like,“ even Tomas Machac looked stunned by the result, perhaps that time!

Novak Djokovic didn’t have a great outing in his previous two matches at the 2025 AO. He dropped a set against two relatively inexperienced campaigners. So, despite his win in both those matches, his performances have raised a few question marks in the minds of tennis experts. We saw Gill Gross, saying, “He (Djokovic) must step his game against Machac,” and then Martina Navratilova also said, “If he (Novak Djokovic) plays the same way as he did in his last two matches, then I think (Tomas) Machac wins.”

What did Machac say ahead of this epic encounter, though? “I’m looking forward to this match. We have 1-1 for a head-to-head. I’m really looking forward to the battle and I’ll definitely enjoy it. I’m going for every match with confidence because otherwise there’s no chance to win even the best so really looking forward to it,” said the Czech. What will be the game plan against someone like Novak Djokovic? Well, Machac didn’t want to spill the beans too much on this.

He simply said, “I will not show up with my game preparation right now. It will be secret.” Tomas Machac is quite aware of the magnitude of this match in his career, and he said these are the moments that he would cherish once he takes retirement from the sport. This is a massive moment for this 24-year-old. Can he upset the Serb?