 "A bottle fell on the back of Novak Djokovic's head while the Serbian tennis superstar was signing autographs following his second-round victory in the Italian Open. Reuters")
Novak Djokovic insisted he isn’t too bothered after getting hit on the head by a water bottle in Rome, and that he’s “fine” and ready to focus on the tennis in hand.
Djokovic was obliging fan requests for autographs at Foro Italico’s centre court following his second-round victory in the Italian Open when a bottle hit him on the back of his head.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, currently ranked No 1 in the world, was seen crouched on the ground in pain after the blow, but took to social media the following day to assure fans that he’s fine and recovering well.
“Thank you for the messages of concern,” Djokovic wrote Saturday on X, formerly Twitter. “This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack. See you all on Sunday.”
Djokovic later showed up at the venue on Saturday wearing a bicycle helmet, stating that he “came prepared” after Friday’s incident.
The 36-year-old had gotten off to a winning start in the Italian capital, beating France’s Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the third round.
He will face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo next as the Serb warms up for the French Open Grand Slam with a great chance to add to his six titles in Rome, where only Rafael Nadal has won more with 10.
There had been fears that Djokovic might join the list of players to withdraw from the tournament after the 24-time Grand Slam winner was covered by security staff as he was led from the arena on foot.
However tournament organisers later released a short statement saying Djokovic’s “condition is not a cause for concern”, and shared a video showing that the bottle had accidentally slipped from a spectator’s grasp.
Djokovic’s absence would have been a blow for the last major tournament before the French Open which is already without Italian world number two Jannik Sinner and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
Home fans have also been deprived of cheering on former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti who both pulled out, Musetti while losing to France’s Terence Atmane on Friday morning.
On Saturday Djokovic’s great clay-court rival Nadal continues his comeback in a second-round clash with seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Nadal has said that he will only play at the French Open, where he has won 14 times, if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the last two years which have left him languishing 305th in the world rankings.
The Spaniard is one of a number of stars lining up on centre court on Saturday with women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, third seed Coco Gauff and men’s second seed Daniil Medvedev all playing in the baking Roman sunshine.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Swiatek faces unseeded Yulia Putintseva and comes into the event having won the Madrid Open last weekend.
With AFP inputs