Novak Djokovic has a scary fan encounter while signing merchandise for spectators following a recent game at the Rome Open.
The star went head-to-head with Corentin Moutet and came out victorious after beating the French plater 6-3, 6-1.
However, as the 36-year-old left the court and headed over to a group of fans who were hoping to get an autograph from him, he was truck in the head by a hard, plastic water bottle.
A video of the moment which was captured and posted to X (formerly Twitter), showed Djokovic signing a cap before turning around to sign a piece of paper held by another fan.
Then out of nowhere, a blue object comes falling down from the air and lands right on top of his head.
Clearly in agony, the tennis star falls to his knees as a security guard comes over and checks up on him.
Djokovic stays on the ground clutching his head before more people gather around him and direct him off the court.
Check out a clip of the moment below:Fans wondered whose water bottle it could have been and whether it was thrown at the star on purpose, but a different angle of the incident showed that it was actually an accident.
As a fan reached down to hand the 24-time Grans Slam winner a paper to sign, his water bottle slipped out of his backpack and accidentally landed on his head - an unfortunate incident for both parties involved.
The man, who has not been formally identified, looked sheepish as he realized what had happened.
After the incident went viral, a spokesman for the Italian tennis federation (FITP) told AFP that Djokovic had been taken back to his hotel with a lightly bleeding head, but there is no risk that he would be withdrawing from the tournament.
The spokesman added that Djokovic did not need stitches and that the bottle likely fell while a fan tried to get the player’s attention, adding that security camera footage is being consulted to help identify the culprit.
“His condition is not a cause for concern,” said organizers in a short statement, before the full video of the incident was reposted to confirm that it was in fact an accident.
Have a look at the video from the second angle below:Djokovic himself also took to X to let everyone know that he was doing fine after the incident and also re-confirming that it was all an accident.
"Thank you for the messages of concern," he wrote in a tweet on the platform. "This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack. See you all on Sunday. #IBI24."
Fans were thankful knowing their favorite tennis player was doing okay after being injured with this one blogger writing: "Great to hear you are doing ok bro! You gave us quite a scare there! Appreciate the update so many fans were worried and you've just put all of our minds at ease. Great performance today, the freak accident is something to tell the grandkids..."
Another added: "Very kind of you champ. Very noble not to be angry at fan who caused [the] accident. All [love]."
A third also stated that were "stressed" after seeing the video, so they appreciated the update.
Djokovic will be heading to the next round of the tournament to face off against Chilean competitor Alejandro Tabilo.
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