Novak Djokovic’s wife has leapt to his defence over a viral video showing his team mixing a secret drink for him during the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday.
The video, in which Djokovic’s team shield physio Ulises Badio as he prepares the drink when they realise he is being filmed, has been viewed nearly 15 million times.
Jelena Djokovic waded into the debate on Twitter on Wednesday, hitting back at people questioning the practice.
Replying to the original tweet, Jelena said: “I don’t see anything dodgy. In fact, I see people trying to be private about their business in a world where everyone feels like they have every right to point camera at you whenever they want. Apparently, wanting/trying to be private makes you dodgy nowadays.”
In response to another poster asking why Djokovic did not simply say what was in the drink, she added: “He will talk when he is ready to talk. This whole nonsense about making people speak about something they are not ready because OTHERS are unpatient (sic) is absurd.
“Sit a bit in silence. Mind yourself more. Not everything you see is controversial. It could be private. Is that allowed?”
The issue follows on from Wimbledon, where Djokovic described a powder he was seen inhaling as a “magic potion”.
He declined to reveal what it was, saying after the final: “It’s going to come out as one of the supplement, let’s say, lines that I’m doing right now with drink and few other things.”
Djokovic, who is a passionate advocate for alternative health care, was beaten in the Paris final by Danish teenager Holger Rune.