Tennis star Holger Rune accidentally smashed a Wimbledon ball boy in the face during his clash against Novak Djokovic in the last 16 on Monday.
At the end of a rally in the second game of the second set, Rune tried to return the ball to his opponent but his shot accidently hit a ball boy right in his face.
Rune immediately ran over to the ball boy on Centre Court to check that he was okay and thankfully he was able to continue.
‘He hit that hard,’ John McEnroe said on commentary duties for the BBC. ‘[The ball boy is] pretending like it didn’t happen!’
Tennis fans have been reacting to the incident on social media with @jonboy_avfc posting on X: ‘The ball boy should be checked for concussion!!! That is scandalous, it’s 2024, not 1994.’
‘Ball boy is gassed he got hit by Rune,’ a second tennis fan, @GoonerBoyMarc, added.
Djokovic, who had to shake off injury problems and recover from surgery ahead of Wimbledon, needed just 29 minutes to win the first set against Rune.
The Serbian later appeared to be in some pain, though, with Laura Robson and Pat Cash both making note of his physical struggles.
‘Novak Djokovic’s movement is still an issue,’ former British No.1 Robson told the BBC. ‘The fact he doesn’t bounce off his serve and recover as quickly as we’re used to seeing from him.’
Ex-Wimbledon champion Cash added: ‘You’ve got to be concerned if Djokovic is rubbing his stomach. You’ve got to remember he’s coming in with very little tennis and he’s had the operation.
‘That messes you up having surgery, the anaesthetic and everything else. It’s certainly not going to make him any stronger.’
Djokovic requested to leave the court for a quick break in the second set, which was initially turned down by the umpire.
At the conclusion of the fifth game of the second set, though, Djokovic jogged down to the locker room for some attention and looked better after returning.
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