Djokovic shocked in Rome after water bottle incident

Novak Djokovic’s performance was so poor in his early exit from the Italian Open that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was “worrying”.

World No. 1 Djokovic produced one of his worst performances in one of his favorite tournaments when he was upset in the third round by 29th seed Alejandro Tabilo in Rome on Sunday.

It was his first game since he was accidentally hit in the head by a fan’s dropped water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday.

“That really touched me a lot. After that I received medical attention and had nausea, dizziness and blood for half an hour, an hour,” Djokovic said at a news conference, adding that he would undergo an ultrasound scan later.

“I was able to sleep well. I had headache. The next day or yesterday it was pretty good so I thought it was fine. Maybe it’s okay. Maybe not.”

“The way I felt on the pitch today was just 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.”

The six-time Rome champion lost his first two service games and lost the match 6-2, 6-3 in just 68 minutes, giving Tabilo the win when he double-faulted to boos at the Foro Italico.

The third-round loss marked Djokovic’s worst performance at the Italian Open as he followed Rafael Nadal to an early exit after the record 10-time Rome champion won his third-round match against Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday had lost.

While Djokovic had said he was “fine” after the water bottle incident, it was an unusually incongruous performance before he attempts to defend his title at the French Open, which begins on May 26.

“Yesterday I wanted to do some light training. I didn’t feel anything, but I didn’t feel the same either,” Djokovic said.

“It was pretty bad today under a lot of pressure – not in terms of the pain, but in terms of the balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player than two nights ago… I don’t know. I need to do medical exams” and see what’s going on.

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Djokovic is still without a title this year – the first time he reached May without a trophy since 2018, when he returned from a right elbow injury.

Number three seed Alexander Zverev advanced after the 2017 Rome champion defeated Luciano Darderi of Italy 7:6 (7:3), 6:2. Grigor Dimitrov and Thiago Monteiro also advanced, while Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4.

In the women’s tournament, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka easily reached the fourth round with a 6:4, 6:2 victory over Dayana Yastremska.

American Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and also reached the final at Roland Garros in the same year, lost to Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova 6:4, 4:6, 6:4.

American Danielle Collins is safely through after beating Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3. Maria Sakkari, Irina-Camelia Begu, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina also advanced in third-round games.