TENNIS
What happened on the night of the Novak’s bottle incident?
Novak Djokovic, the best tennis player in the world, failed to advance to the third round of the Masters in Rome by losing to the Chilean Tabilo.
The second round of the Rome Masters saw a surprising upset as Novak Djokovic, widely considered to be the best tennis player in the world, lost to Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo. Djokovic’s performance was uncharacteristically poor, and he was beaten in record time on Sunday.
Following the match, many fans and experts were left wondering about the cause of Djokovic’s poor form. It was revealed that he had suffered a blow to the head after finishing his previous match against Corentin Moutet, which had caused him to fall to the ground. Video of the incident shows a water bottle falling out of a fan’s backpack as he leans over for the Serbian star to sign his autograph before it hits Djokovic on the top of his head.
At today’s post-match press conference, journalists asked Djokovic about the possible connection between the head injury and his poor performance. He received several questions on the topic, as many were curious if the injury had affected his play.
“I don’t know, to be honest. I have to check that. Training was different. I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same. Today under high stress, it was quite bad - not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago...
It was unexpected obviously. I wasn’t even looking up. Then I felt a very strong hit in the head. That has, yeah, really impacted me a lot. After that I got the medical care. Been through half an hour, an hour of nausea, dizziness, blood, a lot of different things. I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it’s okay.”
Despite losing in Rome, Djokovic is still considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, having won 24 Grand Slam titles. However, this defeat may adversely affect his upcoming matches and his ranking as the world’s number-one player. To maintain his top spot on the ATP list, he must win at Roland Garros in Paris. Tabilo will face Karen Khachanov, who defeated Francisco Serundolo 6-4, 6-2, in the next round of the 2024 Italia Open. Meanwhile, Djokovic is preparing for Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the season, which begins in two weeks.