"First thought that came was Monica Seles, thank goodness it wasn't" - Paul McNamee on Novak Djokovic's freak accident at Italian Open

In his usual show of love for fans, Novak Djokovic was signing autographs at the Italian Open when he was accidentally struck by a water bottle from the stands. This incident sparked comparisons, drawn by former doubles No. 1 Paul McNamee, to the horrific 1993 stabbing of tennis legend Monica Seles by a deranged fan.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion began his pursuit of his seventh Italian Open title on Friday, defeating Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of the tournament.

After the match, the Serb was signing autographs before walking toward the tunnel when he was accidentally struck on the head by a metal water bottle that fell from the stadium's upper decks. Djokovic knelt in pain before the security team whisked him away from the area

Former Australian player Paul McNamee then evoked the horrific 1993 incident where Monica Seles was stabbed on the court at the Hamburg Citizen Cup. The attacker, Guenter Parche, was later revealed to have an unhealthy obsession with Steffi Graf, whom Seles had dethroned as the World No.1.

“The first thought which came to my mind was Monica… thank goodness it wasn’t, but mate, you don’t need to have to deal with that” McNamee Tweeted

When the incident occurred, fans and players were outraged all over the internet because they thought it was intentionally thrown at him; however, it was clarified that it was an accident. A few hours later, Romanian player Prisacariu Andreea, who had initially condemned the incident, hilariously stated that whoever accidentally threw the bottle was unlucky because the internet ended him.

“Was an accident, people. That dude is the most unlucky person rn think all internet ended him, me included” Prisacariu Andreea

Novak Djokovic will face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open

Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024 - Day Five

Novak Djokovic is scheduled to play against Chile's Alejandro Tabilo at the 2024 Italian Open on Sunday. The Chilean defeated Yannick Hanfmann to set up the encounter with the world No. 1.

The Serb is yet to clinch his first title of the season, and the Italian Open is his fourth tournament of the 2024 season. So far, he has had two semifinal finishes: one at the Australian Open and the other at the Monte-Carlo Masters. The last time Djokovic clinched the Italian Open title was in 2022 when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

This season, Alejandro Tabilo has won two titles: the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence. This is also the first time the two are facing each other on the ATP Tour.