After being hit on the head with a bottle two days prior, which he said produced nausea and dizziness spells, Novak Djokovic called Alejandro Tabilo’s shocking third-round exit from the Rome Open “concerning”.
In less than an hour, Chilean Tabilo—ranked 32nd in the world—ended Djokovic’s attempt to capture a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 championship.
Tabilo won 6-2, 6-3 to achieve his first victory over a top-10 opponent. According to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, the knock he took Friday night while mingling with fans may have contributed to his muted performance on a court where he owns six titles.
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Wearing a bike crash helmet to training on Saturday morning, he had originally laughed off getting hit on the head by a hard water bottle after his easy victory over Corentin Moutet in the second round.
“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,” Djokovic told reporters.
“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.”
In addition, Djokovic stated that he would undergo scans to “see what’s going on” prior to the French Open in Paris, where he will be concerned about both his form and the fallout from the bottle incident.
When Djokovic’s first victory of the season occurred at Wimbledon in 2018, it was the last time he entered Roland Garros empty-handed.
“Everything needs to be better in order for me to have at least a chance to win” a 25th Grand Slam, Djokovic said, with the French Open, where he is the defending champion, starting in two weeks.
“The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes,” added Djokovic. “It’s a bit concerning.”
With Djokovic out of the running so early, the final major men’s tournament before Roland Garros is now wide open.
In the day’s final match on centre court, third seed Alexander Zverev will face home hope Luciano Darderi, ranked 54th in the world.
After dominating his legendary opponent, Tabilo produced a stunning comeback to win the biggest match of his career.
He struck 22 winners, committed just four unintentional errors, and avoided facing a single break point.
“Honestly in no moment was I like, Okay, I can win this,” said a delighted Tabilo.
“I was playing incredible tennis. Just wanted to keep that level.
“The whole match I was just trying to take it point by point, not think about the score. Every point was like the start of the match.”