Djokovic suffered a head injury 2 days prior to his defeat at Rome
Novak Djokovic’s defeat at the hands of Alejandro Tabilo in the Rome Open’s third round on Sunday has left the Serbian’s fans’ disappointment beyond measure. Tabilo defeated the current world No. 1 by a stunning 6-2, 6-3 and advanced onto the fourth round of the ATP Master’s 1000.
Fans were concerned and anguished after the 29th-sseeded Alejandro defeated the champion by such a conclusive margin at the Foro Italico. Djokovic’s subpar performance raised questions about the head injury the Serb had received three days prior.
Djokovic was signing autographs for fans after his second-round win against French 6-th seed Corentin Moutet when he was accidentally struck by a metal water bottle that had fallen out of a fan’s backpack.
The bottle struck the Serb on his head, resulting in bleeding and nausea, after which he received primary medical care. Jokingly, Djokovic returned to training on Saturday wearing a cycling helmet as a light-hearted gesture indicating he’s fine.
Following the incident on Friday, Djokovic said, “It was unexpected, obviously… I wasn’t even looking up. Then I felt a very strong hit in the head. That has really impacted me a lot. After that, I got medical care. I have been through half an hour—an hour of nausea, dizziness, blood, and a lot of different things. I managed to sleep OK. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it’d be OK. Maybe it is OK. Maybe it’s not. I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entering my shoes. There is just no rhythm, no tempo, and no balance whatsoever on any shot. It’s a bit concerning.”
After the unfortunate early exit from the Rome Opens, the Serb has opted for further tests to determine if the bottle injury indeed hampered his match at the PFI ATP Master’s 1000.
Alejandro Tabilo’s remarkable victory against Djokovic
When Alejandro Tabilo arrived on court on Sunday, he never would have imagined that he would manage to beat ATP champion Novak Djokovic. The 26-year-old Chilean tennis player had achieved his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 32 on May 6, 2024, prior to arriving for the Rome Open’s.
From the very first serve, Tabilo led the pace of the play, placing eager shots with his left forehand. The Chilean kept Djokovic on the move while returning serve after serve, securing a 4-0 lead in the first set with an array of impressive shots that troubled the Serb very much.
Djokovic’s low rate of movement and unenthusiastic serves left the court wide open for Tabilo. The Chilean quickly realised that the champion was looking for a quick way out when the Serb again made two double faults in the opening game of the second set.
THE BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREER 🌟🇨🇱🌟
Alejandro Tabilo becomes the first Chilean to defeat a World No. 1 since Fernando Gonzalez beat Roger Federer at the 2007 Nittto ATP Finals Round Robin!@InteBNLdItalia | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/Jg1ev2Drlo
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 12, 2024
Tabilo seized his chance and ended the final break of set of the game, thereby bagging his first major win against a top-10 seed. His impressive performance against Djokovic has raised expectations for future matches against higher-seeded ATP contenders.
Following the victory, the Chilean expressed his disbelief, saying, “It’s incredible. I came on court just looking around, just trying to soak it all in and trying to process everything. I’m just trying to wake up right now.”.
With the win on Sunday, Tabilo has advanced to the fourth round of the ATP Rome Open’s against 16-th seed Karen Khanchanov.
