Novak Djokovic caught in the middle of ‘shocking’ act after Rome Open triumph

Novak Djokovic was caught in the middle of a horror incident following his 6-3, 6-1 victory over Frenchman Corentin Moutet at the Rome Open. The world No.1 made easy work of Moutet to advance to the third round, but as the Serb signed autographs and interacted with fans at the end of the match, he was hit on the head by a water bottle .

THE tennis Ace was in agony after being hit in the head as he left center court at the Foro Italico, the contact causing Djokovic to fall to the ground grimacing in pain. Shortly after, the world No. 1 was led out of the arena by security, who covered the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s head as he walked down the tunnel and away from fans.

The tennis world was outraged following the incident which followed the video being shared for the first time by Italian media. It was not immediately clear whether the reusable hard bottle was deliberately thrown at the Serbian champion’s head or whether it was an accident. But it caused massive outrage, with the incident branded “shocking” and “disgusting”.

“Absolutely disgusting behavior from whoever did this,” tweeted the X account The Tennis Letter. “The world is becoming a very sad place.” However, other angles of the incident showed the bottle fell from a spectator’s backpack as he leaned in to try to get an autograph from the world No.1.

Following this incident, the tournament organizers took stock of the state of the Serbian champion. “Novak Djokovic, leaving the center court at the end of his match, was accidentally hit in the head by a water bottle while signing autographs for spectators,” said the management of Internazionali BNL d ‘Italia.

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“He has undergone appropriate medical treatment and has already left the Foro Italico to return to his hotel. His condition is not worrying”

Novak Djokovic to face Alejandro Tabilo in third round

In his first match in almost a month, Djokovic took a little while to get going at Foro Italico on Friday, but once he did, he was quite merciless, knocking out the French qualifier Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-1 in their second round meeting. . After a bit of a slow start, he quickly found his rhythm, winning the match in straight sets.

Djokovic will next face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, with the top seed having a perfect opportunity to return to winning ways in Rome. The world No.1 has made no secret in the past that he loves playing in Italy and with a host of big names at the Rome tournament, he will relish his chances of securing a record 41st Masters 1000 crown.

The Rome tournament, which runs until May 19, is taking place without two of the biggest stars in world tennis, world number 2 Jannik Sinner and world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz. Both withdrew from the men’s draw before the start of the tournament but hope to be in good shape for the next French Open.