'He Was Very Scared': Djokovic's Bottle Incident 'Left Mental Scars' Says Former Player

Wednesday, 22 May 2024 at 16:15

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byZachary Wimer

Former Italian ATP player Guido Monaco revisited the Novak Djokovic Italian Open bottle incident, which shed new light on the whole matter.

The world no. 1 was hit by a metal water bottle right in his head during his 2024 Italian Open participation and blows like that can be serious. After all, the amount of tests Djokovic undertook certainly proved it wasn't something he was taking lightly.

The way the Serbian played his following match certainly proves that something was going on, and some of the accounts of what followed shed new light on it as well. Former player Guido Monaco recently spoke about the incident, reminding everybody that security wasn't always a given in tennis.

Before the knife attack on Monica Seles, there wasn't the level of security in tennis that there is today, and the incident certainly shocked Djokovic, in Monaco's opinion.

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"Let's not forget that before the knife attack on Monica Seles, there was no security in tennis. This incident caused a lot of blood to flow but he was very scared, regardless of whether it was accidental, he was really very scared. And even though he joked with the helmet the next day, it left mental scars."

— Guido Monaco no Djokovic's incident<br>

These are pointing reminders because it must have been a very scary situation for Djokovic. Getting hit in the back of the head by a heavy object without even realizing what was going on isn't something a person can just move on from, especially an athlete, who will be in the same situation over and over again, trying to peacefully sign autographs for his fans, while anticipating something may happen again.

According to Djokovic, the physical part of the incident healed, but that doesn't mean that he won't feel any other effects. Eventually, the coming months and weeks will give us all the answers, but it's something he didn't really need in an already challenging season.