Novak Djokovic is planning to undergo medical checks after a surprise thrashing at the Italian Open. The world No.1 was battered 6-2, 6-3 by Alejandro Tabilo in only his second match in Rome on Sunday. The third-round defeat in the Masters 1000 tournament comes just days after an unusual incident in which Djokovic was struck on the head by a fan’s water bottle.
The Serb collapsed to the floor in pain after a bottle accidentally fell from a spectator’s bag while he was signing autographs and hit the top of his head. Tournament organisers later confirmed “his condition is not a cause for concern”.
And in a statement, Djokovic said: “Thank you for the messages of concern. This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack. See you all on Sunday.”
But Chile’s Tabilo hammered Djokovic on Centre Court. And the 36-year-old, clearly worried in his post-match press conference, said: “I don’t know, to be honest [if the bottle incident affected him]. I have to check that. Training was different. I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.
“Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago.
“Could be. I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on. I didn’t do any scans or any tests. Right now, I feel like I should do it, so… I will do it and let’s see. Let’s see what’s happening.”
Asked further about the incident in the aftermath of his loss, Djokovic admitted he is “concerned”. The 24-time Grand Slam champion added, just a week out from the start of the French Open: “It was a very unfortunate, unlucky situation for me.
