Italian Open has gone off to a really bad start. Right from the start of the tournament, fans have displayed passion way beyond what’s needed and players had to bear the brunt of it. Even in Madrid a couple of weeks ago, Danielle Collins was met with hecklers who constantly interrupted during the course of her match against Aryna Sabalenka. The same pattern is being seen here in Rome.

Few hours ago, Sebastian Korda also faced the wrath of aggressive fans during his match against Flavio Cobolli. Korda managed to win the match despite the hostility and now an even violent situation happened at the Center Court. This time, the victim was none other than world no.1 Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic, who skipped Madrid to play Rome, faced the Frenchman Corentin Moutet in his second-round and barring the initial hiccups, the Serbian star managed to dominate Moutet in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. With Corentin on the other side of the net, fans usually expect drama to unfold but the Frenchman didn’t create any fuss.

However, after the match was over, Djokovic was hit by a bottle from one of the fans in the stadium.

Here’s the disturbing video.

Moments after this distressing incident, Djokovic was seen getting visibly hurt as reports claim that he was bleeding. The bottle that was thrown at the Serb could very well be a metal one. If that is indeed true, player safety becomes a huge matter of concern at tournaments where fans have the tendency to get extra-aggressive.

Update: After the incident took place, Djokovic’s unfortunate incident was confirmed to be an accident as reported by the Associated Press. 

According to journalist Sasa Ozmo, the incident was an accident as a bottle fell out of a child’s backpack. The person who owns the bottle reportedly mentioned that it slipped out of their bag.

Currently, Djokovic decided to not give any press conference after feeling nauseous post the incident. He left the tournament grounds but the Serb doesn’t experience any other complications.

A clear video from a different angle reveals what exactly happened. From the clip, it was evident that it was indeed an accident albeit an unlucky one.

All in all, it must have been quite a hectic night for Novak Djokovic and let’s hope that he gets back on-court healthy for his next match at the Italian Open.