‘Concerned’ Novak Djokovic to undergo scans as Rome exit follows bottle drama

Novak Djokovic described his surprise Rome Open third-round exit to outsider Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday as “worrying”, two days after he was hit in the head with a bottle which he said caused nausea and dizziness. Djokovic’s attempt to win a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just over an hour by Chile’s Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and achieved his first victory over a top 10 opponent, for 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles may have been due to the blow he suffered while greeting fans on Friday night.

He initially laughed off being accidentally hit on the head with a hard bottle following his straight second round win over Corentin Moutet while wearing a cycling helmet in training on Saturday morning.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I have to check that. The training was different. Yesterday I was going for a kind of easy training. I didn’t feel anything, but I didn’t feel the same either,” Djokovic said. he told reporters.

“Today, under a lot of stress, it was really bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player than he was two nights ago.”

Djokovic also said he would undergo tests to “see what’s going on” ahead of the French Open, after admitting to having headaches, nausea and dizziness on Friday night.

“The way I felt on the court today was like a different player was in my place,” Djokovic added. “It’s a little worrying.”

Djokovic’s early exit is a blow to the last major tournament before Roland Garros later this month, which began without world number two Italian Jannik Sinner and third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz.

Home fans were also deprived of cheering on former Wimbledon finalists Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti, while Djokovic’s great rival on clay, Rafael Nadal, a big crowd favorite, was knocked out in the second round on Saturday by the seventh seed. key, Hubert Hurkacz.

But Tabilo was a worthy winner after attacking his superstar opponent, taking a 4-0 lead in the first set in less than 20 minutes, breaking Djokovic twice and surprising the Serb with a series of impressive victories.

The Chilean took the opening set within half an hour, leaving fans sitting in the scorching Rome sun, stunned by an out-of-form Djokovic.

He immediately broke Djokovic for the third time in the opening game of the second set and won the biggest victory of his career in remarkable style, scoring 22 goals, making just four unforced errors and not facing a single break point.

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