Djokovic blames bottle to head for shock defeat
A “concerned” Novak Djokovic will undergo medical tests after feeling the effects of being struck on the head by a bottle in his shock exit from the Italian Open.
Djokovic was beaten 6-2 6-3 in just 67 minutes by Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in Rome yesterday, the six-time champion committing 22 unforced errors, serving five double faults and failing to create a single break point.
The one-sided loss came two days after Djokovic collapsed to the ground after being struck by a bottle which fell from a spectator’s backpack as the world No 1 signed autographs.
“It was unexpected obviously. I wasn’t even looking up,” Djokovic said after his defeat to Tabilo. “Then I felt a very strong hit in the head. That has, yeah, really impacted me a lot. Been through half an hour, an hour of nausea, dizziness, blood, a lot of different things.
“I managed to sleep OK. I had headaches. The next day was pretty fine, so I thought it’s okay. Maybe it is OK. Maybe it’s not.
“I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot.
“It’s a bit concerning. I didn’t do any scans or any tests. Right now, I feel like I should do it, so I will do it and let’s see. Let’s see what’s happening.”
Djokovic’s latest defeat was his fifth in 17 outings this year, so that while he remains at the top of the world rankings, he stands at a relatively lowly 12th place in the ATP’s “Race to Turin” – a chart which only counts results for the 2024 season.
This also means that Djokovic will go into the French Open – which starts in a fortnight’s time – dealing with an unprecedented lack of match practice.
This has been a funny old year for Djokovic, who has yet to reach a single ATP final, and who delivered one of his worst-ever grand-slam performances against Sinner at January’s Australian Open.
Going into 2024’s clay-court showpiece, second-tier players like Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas – all major finalists and top-ten regulars – will surely feel emboldened about their chances.