"Thank goodness it wasn’t": Paul McNamee reveals how Novak Djokovic's incident in Rome reminds him of Monica Sales stabbing event

Former Australian tennis player Paul McNamee has stated that Serbia’s Novak Djokovic’s incident during the Rome Open reminded him of Monica Sales. The 36-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career.

Djokovic, who is currently taking part in the Rome Open, secured his first win in the match against France’s Corentin Moutet in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-1. After the match, the reigning world number signed autographs for the fans and while walking towards the tunnel, he was hit by a metal water bottle. Djokovic was seen in pain after the incident as security took him away.

McNamee, who is the former world number 24 and played in the semifinal of the Australian Open in 1982, in a post on his official account on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — where he explained how the incident reminded him of an incident in Hamburg where Sales was stabbed. “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,” he wrote.