Novak Djokovic's blow to the head might be blessing in disguise

Novak Djokovic might never have had such an interesting early-round match at a tournament that was not a Grand Slam. In his Italian Open second round match against Corentin Moutet he was broken twice to begin the match before dominating after that. At one point in the second set, however, a cell phone began to ring and Moutet realized it was his and jokingly went over to answer.

Had that been the only moment surrounding the match that might have made for a long-term memory it would have been a funny one. Instead, Moutet pantomiming answering his phone was a distant second to what happened immediately after the match. As Djokovic went to leave the court and was signing autographs, one person's aluminum water bottle fell from their backpack and fell on Djokovic's head.

Djokovic immediately fell to the clay and was helped to the locker room where he was checked out by doctors and cleared. The Serb posted on social media later that he was fine and he understood what happened to be an accident, which it clearly was. That does not mean the fan doesn't feel horrible about what occurred, though, because they likely do.

Novak Djokovic shows his sense of humor after being struck in the head

Djokovic used the moment the next day, however, to prove he has an excellent sense of humor. When he arrived at the tournament facilities on Saturday and went to sign autographs, he was wearing a bicycle helmet in a clear mock of being hit in the head the previous day. He posted on X/Twitter a short video of his arrival and captioned the moment by saying, "Today I came prepared." Funny.

Many casual tennis fans, or sports fans who don't know much about Djokovic, might have been surprised by the moment. He comes across as a very serious person who is focused only on winning. That has been the narrative that has been pushed on him by others. He might also be known as the person who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine and came across as a type of villain.

But those who follow tennis and Djokovic more closely know that there is a different side to the ATP No. 1. He is the kind of player who will admit when there was a bad call against an opponent and conceded the point. He did this even against Moutet. He has a good sense of humor and, especially in his native Serbia, doesn't mind mingling with people at parties. He also freely helps younger players simply because he wants to.

Maybe him being hit in the head and then jokingly wearing a bike helmet the next day with help how casual fans see him. He is not a bad person or the antagonist to the fan's favorite player. He is someone worthy of cheering for.

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