The Serbian tennis ace did not look in his best shape during his match against Alejandro Tabilo.

Novak Djokovic in Rome (Image via Imago)

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic suffered an unfortunate accident after his second-round match at the Rome Masters. He was hit by a metal water bottle in his head. The 36-year-old later revealed that he was doing fine and also came out for practice the next day. Djokovic played his third-round match on Sunday too.

However, he looked completely out of rhythm as he lost in straight sets to Alejandro Tabilo. It was an unusual performance from Djokovic and this led to people asking him if the water bottle incident had something to do with his below-par performance. The Serbian did not completely blame the loss on the incident but did not deny it either.

Djokovic went on to talk about how he felt on the court. The 36-year-old said that he did not feel like himself under high pressure and that there was a lack of coordination throughout the match. Djokovic then talked about going for a medical checkup and also claimed that he felt nauseous and dizzy for an hour after the incident.

It was unexpected obviously. I wasn't even looking up. Then I felt a very strong hit in the head. That has, yeah, 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 okay. I had headaches.

Novak Djokovic said after his defeat to Alejandro Tabilo

Was Novak Djokovic going through a concussion during his match?

This statement from Novak Djokovic about feeling nauseous and dizzy led to people discussing the injury. While some claimed that it was just an excuse from Djokovic to justify his below-par performance, a few felt it was a concussion. A journalist, who claims to have worked as a coach, also claimed on X that Djokovic is going through a concussion.

Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Italian Open (Image via Imago)

Sounds like a concussion. I’ve done some coaching (different sport) and had to go through concussion protocol training. If he were one of my kids, I wouldn’t let him play for at least 10 days, then re-check symptoms. So unlucky.

Amy Lundy Dahl on X said about Novak Djokovic’s injury.

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While it is still to be confirmed whether Djokovic was going through a concussion during his third-round match at the Rome Masters, the Serbian was certainly not playing at his best. Djokovic was completely blown away by Alejandro Tabilo, who won the match in straight sets of 6-2, 6-3.