Djokovic felt “different” after the shock loss following the bottle incident.

Novak Djokovic says he felt hampered by the after-effects of a bottle hit to the head as he suffered a shock defeat to Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open.

The world number one was accidentally hit by the water bottle while signing autographs after his second-round win against Corentin Moutet on Friday.

He struggled to find a rhythm against Tabilo on Sunday, as the Chilean needed just 67 minutes to win the third-round match 6-2, 6-3.

“That really touched me a lot. Afterwards I received medical attention and suffered from nausea, dizziness and blood for half an hour to an hour,” Djokovic said.

The Serb initially played down the incident when he jokingly wore a bike helmet to training on Saturday, but says he will now have further scans carried out.

“I was able to sleep well, I had a headache. The next day or yesterday it was pretty good so I thought it was fine. Maybe it’s OK, maybe it’s not,” he added.

“Today on the pitch I felt like another player had walked in my shoes.”

“Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance at all on any beat. That’s a bit worrying.”

For Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world, it was the first victory of his career over a top 10 opponent.

The 26-year-old was dominant throughout, breaking Djokovic’s serve four times and not conceding a single break point.

“It’s incredible. When I got on the court I just looked around, taking it all in and trying to process it all. I’m just trying to wake up,” Tabilo said.

“I just tried to keep my nerve and keep swinging. Every time you feel like you’re almost at the end, your arms get a little tighter.”

“I just tried not to think about it and go through it point by point. It’s crazy, I can’t believe what happened.”

Tabilo is the first Chilean to defeat a world number one since Fernando Gonzalez beat Roger Federer at the 2007 ATP Finals.

He will play Karen Khachanov in the next round after the No. 16 seed Russian defeated Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4

This means six-time champion Djokovic will fail to reach at least the quarter-finals in Rome for the first time since 2006.

The 36-year-old, who is yet to reach a final in 2024, has played just six matches on clay this year as he prepares to defend his French Open title.

The tournament in Roland Garros starts on May 26th.

Aryna Sabalenka easily made it to the round of 16 in Rome with a comfortable straight-set win over Dayana Yastremska.

The Belarusian Australian Open champion didn’t drop a single serve game as she beat Ukraine’s Yastremska 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 28 minutes.

In the next round she will play against two-time Ukrainian winner Elina Svitolina or Russian Anna Kalinskaya.