First the 'magic potion', now the 'miracle pills'! Novak Djokovic drinks 'pyramid water' from Bosnia and travels with his own electromagnetic field: Inside the tennis icon's weird ways after his first-round recovery at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic may have been down against Alexandre Muller after the second set of his first-round Wimbledon match, but he was not out. 

'I went from feeling my absolutely best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes,' Djokovic said after winning the clash in four sets to set up a meeting with Dan Evans. 

'Whether it was a stomach bug - I don't know what it is, but just struggled with that.

'The energy kind of kicked back after some doctor's miracle pills and I managed to finish the match on a good note.'

While the phrase 'miracle pills' might have given some who believe in the Serbian serial champion's tendency towards the dark arts pause, it's unlikely to ring true. On-court doctors are employed by the tournament and nothing they dole out to save a flagging player will trouble WADA. 

But more often than not, Djokovic has relied on somewhat unusual methods to remain highly competitive at 38 years old. 

Last year, Djokovic shocked SW19 by returning to Centre Court twenty-six days after undergoing knee surgery.  

Unorthodox is the word that befits Djokovic and his various beliefs, from pyramid water to a temple that keeps him calm, or the Bosnian mountain he abides by.

Marginal gains is what Djokovic is all about and this latest rehabilitation will have been littered with quirky ways to return to fitness.

Previously he has shown that he places trust in the healing power of trampolines, the use of meditation to fight off injury, the belief that you can make dirty water clean again with nothing but the strength of your emotions. The list goes on and on.

There was the time Djokovic set an alarm on his phone so he would know – to the exact minute – when a year had passed since he last ate a piece of chocolate.

Or the time he listened over and over and over to The Beatles and a Serbian rock band called Električni Orgazam to perfect the rhythm of his famed return motion.

Or there is the faith he places in the healing power of 'pyramid water'.

In a piece on the official Wimbledon website they detail the 'benefits of pyramid water'.

'Novak really appreciates the water from the pyramids. He can see it brings him benefits,' Sam Osmanagic, who announced to the world in 2005 that he had discovered the pyramids, said.

'When Novak comes here, he always gets supplies of the water.'

Djokovic swears by it and he has not been quiet about his pilgrimages to the small city of Visoko in Bosnia, in order to 'charge up on the cosmic energy being emitted by the local ancient pyramids'.

'There is truly a miraculous energy here,' Djokovic said in 2018. 'If there is a paradise on Earth, then it's here.'

Traditional medicine and routine practices of rehab do not appeal to Djokovic; his psyche and mindset has long been on a different level.

Food is a key area for him. Specifically, the 'positive energy' that food can distribute.

In his book 'Serve to Win: The 14-Day Gluten-free Plan for Physical and Mental Excellence', the Serbian superstar incredibly detailed how he believes that conversation is influential on the food we eat.

In Djokovic's mind, negative conversation could well be harmful to the food, stripping it of its nutrients as well as its taste.

During his rehabilitation now, as her has done for many years, Djokovic is positive in affirming his beliefs to his food before he eats. Wild, but it works for him.

Djokovic explains: 'I believe that if you are eating with some kind of fear or worry or anger, the taste of the food and the energy you get from it won't be as powerful… What you give is what you get.'

He is also obsessive when it comes to chewing, an action that must be focused on entirely.

'As I chew, the process of digestion is already starting,' he wrote.

'The enzymes in my saliva mix with the food, so that when it hits my stomach it's a fully formed piece of 'information.'

As well as being informed by mental practices, Djokovic has invested in modern technology, sporting a Taopatch at the 2023 French Open. The patch, affixed to his chest, is a piece of wearable nanotechnology, with administers a version of acupuncture and light therapy. 

More recently, the star revealed during the Australian Open that he had been given a custom electromagnetic device designed to 'enhance metabolic function'. 

'It’s (an) energetic disc, (it) creates an electromagnetic field around it and (the) kind of secret is in this pattern,' Djokovic said of his new favourite toy in an interview with GQ. 

'And so when you place it on a certain part of your body, place this part (the centre of the disc), for example, if you have stomach issues, which I do have often when I’m nervous, stressed before the match or indigestion issues, that creates heat. 

'So then it starts enhancing the metabolic functions or it reduces inflammation in certain part of the body.

'A doctor that I know in Serbia, who is also an engineer, he created this disc for me and I have a bunch of those and I do carry it everywhere. 

'When I fly in the plane, I put it on (my) head or somewhere. I shouldn’t be having it on the body parts for too long, so like 20-30 minutes it does its work.'

More often than not Djokovic is happy to expand on his beliefs, on food, on special water, on not getting vaccinated against Covid, and that was why his 'magic potion' spotted at previous iterations of Wimbledon became so intriguing.

His bizarre Wimbledon drink habit became an even bigger story when he refused to reveal what was in the bottle, claiming it is 'magic potion'.

'Magic potion, that is all I can say,' he said, when pressed.

His wife Jelena, who boasts quirky views of her own, even took a swipe at her husband's critics when it came to the 'potion' in question.

'This whole nonsense about making people speak about something they aren't ready because others are inpatient is absurd,' she said.

'Sit a bit in silence. Mind yourself more. Not everything you see is controversial. It could be private. Is that allowed?'

The 'potion' has since been unveiled as Djokovic's SILA electrolyte supplement, which is available for purchase by the masses and contains, as per the brand itself, 'CoQ10, Vitamins C and B12 for cellular energy', and 'proprietary nanotechnology for maximum absorption'. 

The front row of his box on Tuesday evening were sporting SILA baseball caps, one assumes for maximum absorption of marketing.  

Normally in these weeks Djokovic is frequenting a nearby Buddhist temple.

The Buddhapadipa Temple, on a leafy suburban street just minutes from the All England Club grounds, has been frequented by the reigning champion in previous years.

Djokovic, an Orthodox Christian, once stayed next door to the temple and spent up to an hour a day using its four-acre grounds for meditation and to improve his focus.

'Many years ago he came to stay next door to the temple and every morning he meditated at the temple,' Venerable Piyobhaso, minster of religion at Buddhapdipa, tells Mail Sport.

'He preferred to come in the morning, from 30 minutes up to an hour. Sometimes he spent an hour beside the lake. He became friends with some members.

'Novak is a very friendly person. He always smiled and didn't mind having photos with the temple members. He said that meditation helps with his tennis.'

Whatever Djokovic eats, drinks, prays to, believes in works; it works for him anyway. Because at 38 years of age, he is here, at Wimbledon, full of belief an eighth men's singles title is within his grasp.

If ever there was a reminder this was it: never underestimate Novak Djokovic.