Novak Djokovic was involved in an unlikely mishap at the Rome Masters after a water bottle fell from the stands and struck him on the head as he signed autographs.
The Serbian world No 1, who had just completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over Corentin Moutet of France, collapsed to the ground clutching his head before security staff ushered him away for medical treatment.
As footage of the incident captured by a spectator began to circulate on social media, the first concern was for Djokovic’s welfare. The hard bottle, possibly made of metal, fell at quite a speed and landed directly on the top of the 36-year-old’s head, making an audible thud as it hit the ground. Barely less alarming was the thought that the missile might have been thrown on purpose.
However, a statement issued by tournament organisers allayed concerns that Djokovic had suffered serious injury and confirmed that he had been “accidentally hit”. That was confirmed by the release of video taken from a different angle, which showed that the bottle fell from the backpack of a spectator as he leaned forward to high-five the 24-time grand slam champion.
“Thank you for the messages of concern,” Djokovic later wrote on social media. “This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack.”
It was an unfortunate conclusion to what was otherwise a fairly unremarkable evening’s work for Djokovic, who was playing his first match since losing to Casper Ruud in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month. After dropping three of the first four games against Moutet, the top seed reeled off seven in a row to seize control of the contest, eventually easing to victory in an hour and 25 minutes.
“I haven’t practised with a lefty in a while, so it took me a little bit of time to adjust to the different rotation of the ball,” said Djokovic, who did not speak to the press afterwards, in his on-court interview.
“The first four games were quite bad from me, a bad start. I lost both of my service games. But then I played well. I lost only one game from 1-3 down.
“Corentin is a very talented player. He has great hands and is very unpredictable, you don’t know what’s coming up next. So I had to stay focused, which I did, and it’s a good opening match.”
Officials said Djokovic was evaluated by doctors before leaving the Foro Italico, bloodied but unbowed, to nurse a bump on his head. He is scheduled to face Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean 29th seed, on Sunday.
“He was upset, but he seems OK,” Alessandro Catapano, a spokesman for the Italian Tennis Federation, told the Associated Press. “We’re also very upset about what happened, and we are trying to figure out who it was and understand the dynamics.
“The police came and asked for information, but the person who did it had already left. We’re going through all of the video and camera angles to see if we can determine what exactly happened.”
There was a less literal casualty in the women’s event after Elena Rybakina, the defending champion, withdrew before her opening match against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with illness. Rybakina, seeded fourth, has enjoyed a strong start to the European clay-court swing, winning her third title of the season in Stuttgart before losing a tight three-setter to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open semi-finals.
“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from Rome this year, but unfortunately I do not feel well enough to compete,” Rybakina said in a statement. “I have such good memories from last year and was looking forward to defending my title.
“Rome is so special to me, and I look forward to being back next year to reclaim my title and play in front of the Italian fans.”
Ons Jabeur, another former champion in the Italian capital, was upset by Sofia Kenin, who recovered from a break down in the decider to claim a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over the Tunisian eighth seed. It was the 2020 Australian Open champion’s sixth win in eight meetings with Jabeur.
“I definitely feel like I’ve come a long way,” said Kenin, who has two wins in a row for the first time since last September after beating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the opening round. “I’m not too happy with how this season was going, but I’m happy it’s going in the right direction.
“I feel like the hard work is paying off and the fact that I’m still fighting, training every day, working hard on my fitness, I was feeling like it was all going to come together at some point.”
Kenin will face Rebecca Sramkova, a 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) winner over Katie Boulter, the British 26th seed, on Sunday.