Djokovic is trying to get to the bottom of a freak head injury he picked up at the Italian Open after being struck on the head with a water bottle. The incident happened after he beat Corentin Moutet in his opening match on Friday.
He then suffered an uncharacteristic defeat to Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday, looking flat as he lost 6-2 6-3 in just 67 minutes. The 24-time Major winner later said he would be having medical tests to check what was wrong with his head.
According to Republika, Djokovic has now visited the hospital in his home of Belgrade to have examinations on his head as a precaution. The results showed no anomalies in his head, positive news for the 36-year-old ahead of his French Open title defence.
The Serb was said to be in a good mood and happy to take selfies with those who asked. It comes after Djokovic was asked whether the bottle incident may have contributed to his poor performance against world No. 32 Tabilo.
“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 replied.
“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.”
After Djokovic was struck by the water bottle on Friday, the Italian Open said: “Novak Djokovic on leaving the Central court at the end of his match was accidentally hit on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs to spectators.
“He underwent appropriate medication and has already left the Foro Italico to return to his hotel; his condition is not a cause for concern.” Djokovic was also able to poke fun at the accident as he arrived on site wearing a bicycle helmet the following day.
After visiting the hospital, Djokovic will be able to prepare for the French Open safe in the knowledge that his head will not pose an issue.
