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A candid video of tennis star Novak Djokovic suffering a blow to the head from a fan’s rogue water bottle has proven that danger can strike at any time – even if you’re the world’s number one singles champ.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s a beverage receptacle.

While the BBC attested in a social media post that the tournament organisers have labelled the klap to Djokovic’s kop as “not a cause for concern,” the tennis player has since blamed the incident for his whopping 6-2 and 6-3 losses to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in their most recent match.

 

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The bizarre accident happened while Djokovic was signing autographs on Friday at the Italian Open in Rome.

While there was no ill intent in the metal projectile, the poor fan with butter fingers has to live with this footage for the rest of their life.

The day following the bottle bump, Djokovic seemed to be in good humour at a practice session, walking into the arena wearing a helmet. I guess the best protection is prevention!

However, when reflecting on the incident during a press conference, Djokovic illuminated viewers on just how much he believes his noggin was affected.

“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 the medical care. Been through half an hour, an hour of nausea, dizziness, blood, a lot of different things. I managed to sleep OK. I had headaches,” Djokovic explained.

Despite being cleared initially by medical staff, Djokovic seems to suggest that he was off his game with Tabilo due to the freak accident. The tennis icon was subsequently candid with the press about how the unexpected moment affected him professionally.

According to the Serbian superstar, he will be sourcing additional medical support.

“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.”

Despite what appears to be mild sulking on Djokovic’s part, he showed sportsmanship by complimenting Tabilo’s win.

The conspiracy remains though – can an unruly water bottle be blamed for Djokovic’s loss?

[source:thegaurdian]