John Millman comes to Novak Djokovic's defense, says the idea of the Serb doping is "ridiculous"

John Millman supports Djokovic
John Millman (L) and Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was once again the center of controversy at the Paris Masters last week.

In a video taken during his semi-final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic's trainer can be seen preparing a drink and seems nervous when he realizes he is being filmed. He then passes the bottle to a ball girl and instructs her to give it to the 21-time Grand Slam winner.

Since the video went viral, tennis fans have concocted all sorts of stories as to what the drink might have contained.

John Millman, who is perhaps best known for beating Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open, has come to Djokovic's defense. The Aussie stated that the notion that something illegal was happening was ridiculous and urged people to "use a little logic."

"Too much attention on a team member mixing sports drinks.. a proper ridiculous notion that something is up, stadium full, cameras everywhere, drinks mixed in players box.. I mean use a little logic here, maybe just maybe they don't want to give the edge to anyone," Millman said.

Millman made it exceedingly clear that inside locker rooms, drinks are always stored in unmarked bottles, and that supplement intake is a trade secret.

"To add to that, inside a locker room you see a players team always making drinks, in unmarked bottles and put in the fridge. Training programs, supplement intake etc. is trade secret," he added.

"The future is bright for you" - Novak Djokovic on Holger Rune after thrilling Paris Masters final

Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune at the 2022 Paris Masters
Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune at the 2022 Paris Masters

After Holger Rune defeated Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Masters 1000 title, the Serb was full of praise for the teenager.

Djokovic lauded Rune's dedication and hard work, opining that the "future is bright" for the teenager.

"I'm not happy you beat me, but on the other hand I'm happy for you because I like your personality," he said. "I think you're a very dedicated guy that loves tennis and puts a lot of hours into hard work so it's paying off for you and I'm sure the future is bright for you and your team. Congratulations!"

Novak Djokovic's next assignment is at the ATP Finals in Turin later this week, where he is the favorite to win his sixth title. Interestingly, Rune will also head to Turin as the first alternate at the season-ending championship.

The young Dane has had an incredible past few weeks, making the finals at four ATP events, resulting in title wins in Stockholm and Paris.

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