Novak Djokovic insisted he was “fine” after being struck on the head by a bottle following his second-round victory over Corentin Moutet at the Italian Open.
Djokovic, still to win a title this year, recovered from a slow start to see off lucky loser Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-1 and move into the third round in Rome.
The 36-year-old suffered an “accidental” blow to his head moments after securing his victory and fell to the ground for more than half a minute, before returning to his feet – flanked by multiple officials – and heading to the medical centre at the Foro Italico.
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Djokovic is through to the Italian Open third round, after a straight sets win over Corentin Moutet
A statement from the Italian Open read: “Novak Djokovic has been accidentally hit by a bottle while signing autographs after his 6-3 6-1 win against France’s Corentin Moutet at the Italian Open.
“This is not being treated as a deliberate act, but as an accident. A boy was calling out to get an autograph and the bottle fell out of his bag. Novak has been taken to the medical centre.”
Organisers later issued an update which read: “He has undergone the necessary checks and has already left the Foro Italico to return to his hotel. His condition is not a cause for concern.”
In a post on X, Djokovic said he was “fine” and thanked fans for their support.
He said: “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 on Sunday.”
How Djokovic progressed in Rome
Despite Djokovic being broken in his first two service games, the Serb responded to Moutet’s strong start to take the first set 6-4 from a position of 3-1 down.
The second set then saw Djokovic firmly on top as Moutet started to regularly rant to himself and towards his corner, receiving a warning from umpire Carlos Bernardes for kicking the net, and throwing his racket several times too – all either side of his phone alarm bizarrely going off.
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Moutet lost his cool with the umpire after he was asked to the place back the top of the net post after he knocked it off
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Moutet’s alarm on his phone went off mid-match while playing against Djokovic in Rome, everyone involved saw the funny side of the moment
In the end, Moutet could not get back into a positive frame of mind to compete, going down meekly in the second set 6-1.
Djokovic will next face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the third round.
“I haven’t practised with a lefty in a while, so it took me a little bit of time to adjust to the different rotation on the balls,” Djokovic said afterwards. “The first four games were quite bad for me. But then I played well.
“Corentin is a very talented player. He has great hands and very unpredictable. You don’t know what what comes up next. So I had to stay focused, which I did. So it’s a good opening match.”
Moutet cut a hugely combustible figure throughout the contest in Rome
Elsewhere, former champion Alexander Zverev, the world No 3, defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-0 6-4, while veteran Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov swept past Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5 6-4 on Court 12.
Fifth seed Casper Ruud, though, suffered a shock defeat as Miomir Kecmanovic came from behind to win 0-6 6-4 6-4 – the Serb having recovered after leaving the court for a medical time-out late on in the first set.
No 11 seed Taylor Fritz ended the hopes of home wildcard Fabio Fognini as the American came through 6-3 6-4.
Ben Shelton maintained his impressive clay-court form as the 21-year-old American came from behind to beat Pavel Kotov 4-6 6-3 6-4 and reach the third round in Rome for the first time.
Portugal’s Nuno Borges knocked out 15th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-4 and Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro was a 6-1 6-3 winner over Australian No 32 seed Jordan Thompson.
Luciano Darderi and qualifier Francesco Passaro delighted the home support with wins over seeds Mariano Navone and Tallon Griekspoor respectively.
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