Novak Djokovic gives update after Rome incident as he explains why he is desperate to play in Geneva
Novak Djokovic insists his “head is fine” following the bottle incident at the Italian Open as he also revealed why he made a surprise decision to enter the Geneva Open.
The world No 1 was accidentally hit on the head in Rome earlier in May when a bottle fell from a spectator’s backpack with the incident taking place while he was signing autographs following his opening-round win at Foro Italico.
Djokovic collapsed to the floor, clutching his head, before he was escorted away by security. Although he was given the all-clear following a medical checkup, he revealed after his third-round exit that he suffered from “nausea, dizziness, blood, a lot of different things”, adding that it was “a bit concerning” and he would undergo further scans.
He is set to return to action in Switzerland on Wednesday as he will face Yannik Hanfmann in the second round and he was asked about his head during his pre-match press conference.
“My head is fine or at least there are no lasting effects, in the last few days I have dedicated myself to practicing with my new trainer,” he explained.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner’s decision to enter the ATP 250 event raised quite a few eyebrows as he usually skips tournaments before a major as he opts to spend more time on the practice courts.
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Roland Garros starts on Sunday and Djokovic is undercooked on clay as he has only played six matches on the surface so far this season, winning four.
With clay being one of the most demanding surfaces, Djokovic felt he needed more match time under his belt for heading to Paris.
“The reason why I chose to come and play I because I feel like at this moment there is no better practice for me than match play,” he said.
“I feel like I need more matches. Even if it’s one match, two matches, three-four, hopefully, it’s good for me because that’s the way for me to try to find that kind of form that I need for Roland Garros.”
He added: “Let’s see how it goes in the match. In terms of fitness, I’ve dedicated quite a bit of time with my new-old fitness coach to build endurance and the physical strength and the capabilities that I need in order to play the best-of-five Grand Slam on the physically most demanding surface which is clay.”
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