Novak Djokovic found himself in the middle of a “shocking” incident after his triumph at the Rome Open

Novak Djokovic was caught in the middle of a horror incident after his 6-3, 6-1 victory over France’s Corentin Moutet at the Rome Open. The world No. 1 managed to easily defeat Moutet to advance to the third round, but as the Serb was signing autographs and interacting with fans at the end of the match, he was hit in the head with a water bottle.

The tennis Ace was in pain after being hit in the head as he left Center Court at the Foro Italico. The contact caused Djokovic to fall to the ground and grimace in pain. Shortly afterwards, the world number one was led out of the arena by security guards who covered the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s head as he walked through the tunnel and away from the fans.

The tennis world was in uproar over the incident after the video was first shared by Italian media. It was not immediately clear whether the hard reusable bottle was intentionally thrown at the Serbian champion’s head or whether it was an accident. But it caused mass outrage, with the incident described as “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 falling out of a spectator’s backpack as he leaned over to grab an autograph from the world number one.

Following the incident, tournament organizers provided an update on the Serbian champion’s condition. “Novak Djokovic was accidentally hit in the head by a water bottle while leaving the main court at the end of his match while signing autographs for spectators,” Internazionali BNL d’Italia management said.

The story goes on

“He received appropriate medication and has already left the Foro Italico to return to his hotel. His condition is not a cause for concern.”

Novak Djokovic will face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round

In his first match in almost a month at Foro Italico on Friday, Djokovic took a while to get going, but once he did he was pretty ruthless, defeating French qualifier Corentin Moutet 6-3 in the second round , 6:1. After a slow start, he quickly found his rhythm and won the match in straight sets.

Djokovic next faces Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, with the top seed having the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways in Rome. The world number one has made it no secret in the past that he loves playing in Italy and given the number of big names at the tournament in Rome, he will be boosting his chances of winning a record-breaking 41st Masters 1000 title enjoy.

Two of the world’s biggest tennis stars will be missing from the tournament in Rome, which runs until May 19: Jannik Sinner, world number 2, and world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz. Both withdrew from the men’s draw before the start of the tournament but hope to be fit again for the upcoming French Open.