Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic was hit on the head by a metal water bottle on Friday (May 10) at the ongoing Italian Open. Djokovic was signing the autographs when a bottle dropped on his head. The tennis star, however, said that he’s fine and it was an accident.
The video posted on the social media platform X shows that Djokovic was signing a hat of fan and the bottle dropped on his head. He immediately bent down holding his head with both hands and was shielded by a security guard. Have a look at the video below:
After the incident, Djokovic skipped the post-match press conference and wrote on X: “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 Sunday.”
The organisers also issued a statement which read: “While leaving center court after his match, Novak Djokovic was hit on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs. He received medical attention and has already left the Foro Italico to return to his hotel. His condition is not a cause for concern.”
Alessandro Catapano, Italian tennis federation’s spokesperson, revealed the extent of Djokovic’s injury, which did not require stitches, and said: “He was upset, but he seems OK. We’re also very upset about what happened and we are trying to figure out who it was and understand the dynamics.”
“The police came and asked for information but the person who did it had already left. We’re going through all of the video and camera angles to see if we can determine what exactly happened,” he added.
As for his match, he had profoundly beaten French qualifier Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1 in his opening match of the tournament. He’ll next play against Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday (May 12).
