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via Reuters
Tennis – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 17, 2023 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his quarter final match against Denmark’s Holger Rune REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-05-17T114828Z_1849704394_UP1EJ5H0WSQ50_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-ROME.jpg?width=600)
via Reuters
Tennis – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 17, 2023 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his quarter final match against Denmark’s Holger Rune REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
Novak Djokovic‘s title drought for the current season continues. The Serb recently made a comeback in Rome after keeping himself on the sidelines for a long while. Although he managed to secure a win in his opening match, the tennis star faced a disappointing defeat against Alejandro Tabilo with a final scoreline of 6-2, 6-3. While everyone was curious to know what might be the reason behind this unexpected happening, the Serb himself came forward to address the situation.
Djokovic’s welcome at the Italian Open came out to be quite unpleasant. While the tennis star was meeting and greeting his fans in the crowd, a metal bottle dropped down from a fan’s bag, giving a tight bump on his head. While he was eventually led off inside, Djokovic today listed it as a probable reason behind his shocking defeat.
“I don’t know, to be honest. 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,” he said, upon being asked if the bottle incident had any contribution in leading him to a straight-set defeat.
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Novak Djokovic was asked if getting hit on the head with the bottle impacted his tennis today after his loss to Tabilo
“Was this related at all to the bottle incident? Were you feeling anything from what happened on Friday night?”
Novak: “I don't know, to be honest. I have to… pic.twitter.com/CSFh4ApT3I
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 12, 2024
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Raising speculations about heavier damage than he expected, Novak Djokovic added, “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.”
As the tennis star finds himself out of the tournament in Rome, it still remains to be seen if he will be able to figure things out before the upcoming clay-court major.
Novak Djokovic’s rival trying to ‘wake himself up’ after the remarkable victory
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The victory over Novak Djokovic came out to be one of the most valuable wins for Alejandro Tabilo. After defeating the Serb in straight sets, the Chilian ATP star revealed that it is still hard for him to accept that he has achieved a difficult feat.
“It’s incredible. I came on court just looking around and soaking it all in, trying to process everything. I’m trying to wake up right now,” he said, mentioning how he’s still trying to digest the remarkable victory. As Tabilo established himself as a strong force by defeating the world no.1 in an arena where he has emerged victorious six times in his career, it still remains to be seen if he utilizes the confidence in a productive way.