Novak Djokovic hit in head by bottle after beating Corentin Moutet in Rome

World number one Novak Djokovic collapsed to the ground after he was struck on the head by a bottle at the Italian Open.

Djokovic, still to win a title this year, recovered from a slow start to see off lucky loser Corentin Moutet and move into the third round in Rome.

But just moments after his victory, the 36-year-old suffered an "accidental" blow to his head as he made his way off the court.

Djokovic fell to the ground for more than half a minute before he returned to his feet, flanked by multiple officials, and then headed to the medical centre.

A statement from the Italian Open read: "Novak Djokovic has been accidentally hit by a bottle while signing autographs after his 6-3 6-1 win against France's Corentin Moutet at the Italian Open.

"This is not being treated as a deliberate act, but as an accident. A boy was calling out to get an autograph and the bottle fell out of his bag. Novak has been taken to the medical centre."

Djokovic had made a nervy opening to the first set as Moutet broke twice to move 3-1 ahead.

The Serbian, though, fought back with two breaks of his own before serving out the opening set in 45 minutes.

There was a light-hearted moment at the start of the second set when the alarm on Moutet’s phone in his bag went off, with the Frenchman making a quick dash to his chair to hit the stop button.

With Djokovic 2-0 up after an early break, the world number one noticed a hole near the baseline on his side of the court, which was quickly patched up before extra clay was bedded in during the next change of ends.

After such a promising start, Moutet was beginning to lose his cool – and was warned by the umpire after kicking the net in frustration after sliding in for a forehand.

Djokovic – competing in his first match