The Serbian world No 1, who had just completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over Corentin Moutet of France, collapsed to the ground clutching his head before security staff ushered him away for medical treatment.

As footage of the incident captured by a spectator began to circulate on social media, the first concern was for Djokovic’s welfare. The hard bottle, possibly made of metal, fell at quite a speed and landed directly on the top of the 36-year-old’s head, making an audible thud as it hit the ground. Barely less alarming was the thought that the missile might have been thrown on purpose. 

However, a statement issued by tournament organisers allayed concerns that Djokovic had suffered serious injury and confirmed that he had been “accidentally hit”. That was confirmed by the release of video taken from a different angle, which showed that the bottle fell from the backpack of a spectator as he leaned forward to high-five the 24-time grand slam champion.

“Thank you for the messages of concern,” Djokovic later wrote on social media. “This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack.”

It was an unfortunate conclusion to what was otherwise a fairly unremarkable evening’s work for Djokovic, who was playing his first match since losing to Casper Ruud in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month. After dropping three of the first four games against Moutet, the top seed reeled off seven in a row to seize control of the contest, eventually easing to victory in an hour and 25 minutes. 

“I haven’t practised with a lefty in a while, so it took me a little bit of time to adjust to the different rotation of the ball,” said Djokovic, who did not speak to the press afterwards, in his on-court interview. 

“The first four games were quite bad from me, a bad start. I lost both of my service games. But then I played well. I lost only one game from 1-3 down.

“Corentin is a very talented player. He has great hands and is very unpredictable, you don’t know what’s coming up next. So I had to stay focused, which I did, and it’s a good opening match.”

Officials said Djokovic was evaluated by doctors before leaving the Foro Italico, bloodied but unbowed, to nurse a bump on his head. He is scheduled to face Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean 29th seed, on Sunday.

“He was upset, but he seems OK,” Alessandro Catapano, a spokesman for the Italian Tennis Federation, told the Associated Press. “We’re also very upset about what happened, and we are trying to figure out who it was and understand the dynamics.

“The police came and asked for information, but the person who did it had already left. We’re going through all of the video and camera angles to see if we can determine what exactly happened.”

There was a less literal casualty in the women’s event after Elena Rybakina, the defending champion, withdrew before her opening match against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with illness. Rybakina, seeded fourth, has enjoyed a strong start to the European clay-court swing, winning her third title of the season in Stuttgart before losing a tight three-setter to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open semi-finals.

“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from Rome this year, but unfortunately I do not feel well enough to compete,” Rybakina said in a statement. “I have such good memories from last year and was looking forward to defending my title.

“Rome is so special to me, and I look forward to being back next year to reclaim my title and play in front of the Italian fans.”

Ons Jabeur, another former champion in the Italian capital, was upset by Sofia Kenin, who recovered from a break down in the decider to claim a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over the Tunisian eighth seed. It was the 2020 Australian Open champion’s sixth win in eight meetings with Jabeur. 

“I definitely feel like I’ve come a long way,” said Kenin, who has two wins in a row for the first time since last September after beating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the opening round. “I’m not too happy with how this season was going, but I’m happy it’s going in the right direction.

“I feel like the hard work is paying off and the fact that I’m still fighting, training every day, working hard on my fitness, I was feeling like it was all going to come together at some point.”

Kenin will face Rebecca Sramkova, a 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) winner over Katie Boulter, the British 26th seed, on Sunday.

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Fortified by the confidence she derived from last November’s title run at the WTA Finals, where she reclaimed the top ranking from Aryna Sabalenka with the last ball of the season, ending an eight-week interregnum, Swiatek has said she is better equipped to deal with the pressures of being No 1 this year. The smile she flashed as she grabbed her belongings and began the lengthy walk of champions seemed to confirm the truth of that claim. So too did the performance that followed. 

It was a pig of a draw for both women, this first-round meeting of grand slam champions. The pair last crossed paths in the final of the 2020 French Open, when Swiatek was largely unknown and Kenin was ranked sixth after winning that year’s Australian Open. Their careers have gone in very different directions since the Pole’s victory that day. Swiatek rose to become the world’s best player; Kenin suffered a series of injuries and ailments that marred the next two seasons, sending her ranking into freefall before she worked her way back to the fringes of the top 30 last year. 

The quality of the ferociously combative American’s game has never been in question, however, and on a sweltering afternoon in Melbourne she posed the top seed all manner of problems before Swiatek closed out a hard-earned 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 win in an hour and 51 minutes.

“The temperature was higher than any match I played this season,” said Swiatek of her 17th straight victory. “I needed to adjust to that. The balls were a little bit flying out of control. That’s normal in these conditions.  

“At the beginning, I knew I could do a little bit more in terms of the placement. I wanted to be more aggressive. But on the other hand, I was backing down a little bit. I just wanted to go forward and be proactive and have initiative.”

Much of that was also down to Kenin, who could hardly have done more to make life difficult for her rival. Throughout the first set, she matched and frequently eclipsed Swiatek from the baseline, taking the ball on the rise, directing it into the corners with pace and accuracy, and keeping the Pole off balance with smart drop shots and angles. 

Capitalising on some uncharacteristic errors from Swiatek, Kenin claimed an early break, and although she subsequently became distracted by a contentious call, frittering away her advantage with an ill-timed double fault, she then showed admirable tenacity to halt a run of three games against her, battling through a nine-minute service game to hold for 4-4.

From there, a searing backhand winner gave Kenin a second break and a chance to serve for the first set. But as Polish fans exchanged worried glances, Swiatek remained a model of composure. She produced a magisterial backhand, demolished an off-forehand, and in a trice she was back on equal terms. The moment of crisis had passed. 

“For sure, it wasn’t the easiest first round,” acknowledged the Pole. “She played really well. I tried to find my rhythm, especially in the first set. I’m happy at the end of the set I could win the most important points.”

With Danielle Collins lying in wait following a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Angelique Kerber, another former Australian Open champion, the next round is unlikely to be any easier. The 30-year-old American defeated Swiatek in the semi-finals two years ago, but there is a serenity and belief about the Pole that bodes well for the challenges ahead. She is unbeaten since September of last year, the adjustment she has made to the first phase of her service action is holding up well under the scrutiny of match play, and against Kenin she was able to elevate her game at the key moments. There was even a one-handed backhand volley at one point, a sure sign that confidence is high.

Elena Rybakina, Swiatek’s conqueror in last year’s fourth round and a potential semi-final opponent, survived a similarly onerous first-round test against Karolina Pliskova. Rybakina, the third seed, came through 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 against the former world No 1.

“It was really tough match,” said Rybakina, who will face Russia’s Anna Blinova next. “I think it’s a good win, especially for the first round.”

No one will appreciate the truth of that sentiment more than Swiatek.

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In a clash of Australian Open champions present and past, Sabalenka was brought crashing back to Earth by Sofia Kenin in the slow, heavy conditions at the Foro Italico, falling to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 loss. It was the first time this season that the Belarusian has lost before the quarter-finals of a tournament, and the first time in more than three years that Kenin, a former world No 4 now languishing at 134 after enduring a series of injuries and ailments, has beaten a top-10 player. 

As Sabalenka acknowledged, reaching two finals in two weeks is no simple task. “Exhausted,” the world No 2, who lost to Swiatek a fortnight ago in Stuttgart before bouncing back to win in Madrid, tweeted in the aftermath of her unexpected defeat. “Definitely need some recharge.”

Time will tell if the setback was a blessing in disguise for the 25-year-old. While it will now be at least 11 days before she next plays competitively, Sabalenka looked jaded at times against Kenin. A period away from the match court could be just what the doctor ordered as she steels herself for the challenge that awaits at Roland Garros, where she has never previously advanced beyond the third round. 

Against Kenin, Sabalenka twice recovered from a break down to force her way back into the opening set. But on a day when her game flicked in and out of life, she was never able to sustain the level of consistency required to seize control of the match, making 32 unforced errors and winning a meagre 31% of points behind her second serve. 

Sabalenka faded following the first-set tiebreak, which got away from her quickly after Kenin conjured a glorious angled winner to cement the first mini-break. A flurry of errors saw Sabalenka lose six of the first seven points and, although Kenin wobbled briefly with the set at her mercy, she eventually converted her fourth set point, prising a mistake from the second seed with some fine defending.

“I’m really happy, I obviously know she’s had some great results playing some of the best tennis,” said Kenin, who will face Anhelina Kalinina, the Ukrainian world No 47, in round three. 

“All credit to her. I just had to bring out my best game, and every point was tough.

“I had to be dominant. If I’d been passive, that wouldn’t have been good. I had to serve well and I had to return well – she’s got a huge serve – so I took my chances and was able to convert them. Luckily it went my way.”

It was Kenin’s best win by ranking since she defeated Ashleigh Barty, then world No 1, in the semi-finals of the 2020 Australian Open. She would go on to reach the French Open final later that year before her form and fortunes went into a tailspin. But having ended last season ranked outside the top 200, the 24-year-old has been quietly making progress in 2023, reaching the last four in Hobart at the start of the year, extending Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, to two tiebreaks in Indian Wells – and, notably, defeating Kalinina in straight sets in Miami.

In another major upset, Taylor Townsend, the world No 168, defeated her American compatriot Jessica Pegula, resisting a late fightback from the third seed to seal a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory. Townsend made a near-flawless start to the decider, winning 14 of the first 15 points, and although Pegula survived a match point at 2-5, a fine serving performance saw the lower-ranked woman home. 

“I’m just really proud of myself,” said Townsend, 27, who left the tour three years ago to have her first child. “I’ve been working really hard over the past couple of years to come back. Moments like these are what it’s all about. 

“Two years ago, a year ago, when I started back in April, I had these types of moments in my mind where I wanted to be in these types of situations. To be here and to be able to come through and play the way that I did, it really means a lot.”

It is a feeling with which Kenin will identify.

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“Dang, you saw that?” Osaka chuckled after launching the defence of her Australian Open title with an assured 6-3, 6-3 win over Camila Osorio, the world No 50. “I deleted it like three minutes after.”

Welcome to the world of the new Naomi, a carefree refuge from the tribulations of last year, when Osaka began the summer by withdrawing from the French Open to protect her mental health and ended it with a tearful announcement that she would be taking an indefinite break from the game. The former world No 1 appears to be in a better place both on and off the court, and how tennis needs her after the unsavoury events that have dominated the headlines in recent days. 

Ironically, the Novak Djokovic saga might actually have helped Osaka, whose return to the sport would otherwise have been more fully in the spotlight ahead of the season’s first slam. Instead, she has been able to slip quietly under the radar, reaching the last four at the Melbourne Summer Set before an abdominal injury forced her withdrawal. 

That will soon change if she continues to produce the kind of form that blew away Osorio in the early stages here. The Colombian, a former junior world No 1 who, at the age of 20, is just beginning to find her feet at senior level, must have wondered what she had got herself into. Caught in a maelstrom of exquisitely-timed winners, Osorio found herself 5-0 down in the blink of an eye despite barely putting a foot wrong. Unsurprisingly, after so long away from the game, Osaka struggled to maintain her stratospheric level of play, yet she was calm when the inevitable dip came, shrugging off her mistakes with a blithe air that augurs well for the challenges ahead.

“I just want to have fun, first of all,” explained Osaka, who is seeded 13th and expected to play Ashleigh Barty, the world No 1 and home favourite, in the last 16. “I can’t expect myself to win every match, but I do expect myself to have fun and challenge myself.

“For me, I came back when I wanted to come back. I just felt like there are situations where I previously would get upset. But at this point in my life, I’m here because I want to be here, and because I find that it’s fun for me. Might as well enjoy it while I still can.  

“I think just to be playing on Rod Laver [Arena] and to have, like, such a good streak on Rod Laver is something I could be proud of and something I enjoy.”

Significantly, the politically dialled-in Osaka, whose social activism has earned her a reputation as a soft-spoken agent of change, carefully sidestepped questions about the Djokovic situation. “It didn’t really affect me,” she said. “I saw that it affected the men’s draw a little bit, so you might have to ask a men’s player.” Her media interrogators failed to take the hint – the first two questions at her press briefing concerned Djokovic, while the third was about Peng Shuai – and it is perhaps indicative of the work that remains to be done on that front that she subsequently had to shut down further questions on the subject. That she did so, however, is indicative of the positive shift in her mindset after the travails of last season.

“I would say I feel more comfortable in my skin,” said Osaka. “[It’s] human nature to feel uneasy, to want to please everyone and stuff like that. I feel like there was a time after French Open where I felt like everyone was judging me. 

“It feels a bit weird when you go into a stadium to play and you’re kind of concerned what everyone’s gaze means. I’m not sure if I explained that well. Basically, right now I’m trying to learn how to be more selfish, but in a positive way.”  

With a blockbuster showdown against Barty potentially on the horizon, such pragmatism will be needful. The top seed, who is seeking to end Australia’s 44-year wait for a homegrown champion, opened her campaign in emphatic style with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Lesia Tsurenko. It was the perfect start for the world No 1, who was beaten by the Ukrainian qualifier at the Brisbane International four years ago and extended to a decider by the 32-year-old at Melbourne Park in 2020. There was never any prospect of a repeat this time. Barty dissected Tsurenko’s game with clinical precision, her power and variety proving too much for the former world No 23 as she stretched her run of consecutive service holds to 42, a streak that began during her winning start to the season in Adelaide.

“The last kind of five or six matches I felt like I found a really good rhythm on my service games,” said Barty. “I’ve been able to serve my way out of some tricky spots and play some 30-30 points while not falling too far behind in service games. That has been a massive part of my week in Adelaide, and again tonight.  

“I think I did a pretty good job of winning first and second points. And if I didn’t, I was able to call that back and not dig myself into a hole where I was fighting off two or three break points in a row. I think [my ability] to manage service games has been really good.”

Elsewhere, Madison Keys brought an early end to Sofia Kenin’s challenge for a second title at Melbourne Park with a 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 victory. In a performance that belied her current ranking of 51, Keys fired 31 winners against her fellow American to underline the resurgent form she showed last week in Adelaide, where she won the sixth title of her career. 

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Williams, who had hoped to match Court’s tally of 24 majors at Flushing Meadows, announced on social media that she would miss the event to continue her recovery from a torn hamstring.

“After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring,” wrote Williams, the world No 22, on Instagram. 

“New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favourite places to play – I’ll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone on from afar. Thank you for your continued support and love. I’ll see you soon.”

The news marks another moment of heartbreak for Williams, who was last seen leaving Wimbledon in tears after retiring from her opening match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich following an injury suffered when she slipped on the Centre Court grass.

In a brief statement released following her withdrawal against Sasnovich, Williams alluded obliquely to an injury to her right leg. Until now, however, little was known about the extent of the problem.

The American, who pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics following Wimbledon and also missed last week’s WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, won the last of her 23 majors at the Australian Open in 2017. Williams will turn 40 on 26 September, and while it would be foolhardy to dismiss her prospects of a return to the grand slam winners’ circle, time is increasingly against her.

The latest blow to Wiliams’ aspirations will feel all the more bitter for coming at her home slam, where she has often been at her best over the past decade. The received wisdom is that Wimbledon offers the former world No 1 the best chance of adding to her grand slam tally, yet she has fallen relatively early at the All England Club on three occasions since her 30th birthday. Conversely, she has not once failed to make the last four in New York during that period, winning three of her six US Open titles and making a further three finals.

Serena will be joined on the sidelines by her sister Venus, who has succumbed to a persistent leg injury, and Sofia Kenin, the world No 5 and former Australian Open champion, who has tested positive for Covid-19.

“It’s super, super, super disappointing,” said Venus, who was beaten in straight sets by Hsieh Su-wei in the opening round of this week’s Chicago Women’s Open. “I’m having some issues with my leg all this summer, and just couldn’t work through it. I tried my best here in Chicago, but I just was unable to figure out the equation. And there’s been so many times where I’ve been able to figure it out, even not in the best of my health, but this time I just couldn’t make any miracles work.”

Venus, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and successfully defended her title the following year, had been given a wildcard to appear at this year’s event. “I’m going to miss the Open,” added the 41-year-old. “It’s my favourite slam. I’ve had so many amazing memories there, and I can’t wait to get back out on the court, whenever that is. I’ll work with my team to make it as soon as I can.”

Kenin revealed on social media that she contracted Covid recently and has continued to test positive, forcing her withdrawal. “Fortunately I am vaccinated and thus my symptoms have been fairly mild,” she wrote on Twitter. “However I have continued to test positive and thus will not be able to compete at the US Open next week. I plan to spend the next several weeks getting healthy and preparing to play well this fall.”

Serena’s absence at Flushing Meadows, which follows the withdrawals of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, means it will be the first time since 1997 that none of the feted trio has appeared in New York. The absence of three star names with 63 majors between them – not to mention Venus and Dominic Thiem, the holder of the men’s title, who is still recovering from the wrist injury he suffered at the Mallorca Open in June – will be keenly felt.

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Having previously made three quarter-finals on the Parisian clay, Svitolina had designs on a deeper run this year following the withdrawal of top seed Ashleigh Barty from her section of the draw. 

The Ukrainian has been in good form on the red dirt this season, reaching the semi-finals in Stuttgart and the last eight in Rome, but was comprehensively outclassed by an opponent high on confidence after winning the first singles title of her career in Strasbourg last week.

In truth, the outcome was hardly a shock. While Krejcikova is better known as a doubles specialist, having reached world No 1 three years ago when she partnered compatriot Katerina Siniakova to the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles, her singles results have steadily improved since last year, when she made the fourth round of a major for the first time in Paris. 

The Czech has now won 10 of her previous 11 matches, with a quarter-final loss in Rome – where she defeated Sofia Kenin and held match points against Iga Swiatek – the only blot on her recent record.

“I’m super happy, I can’t really believe it,” said Krejcikova, who laid the foundations for victory by surviving a 21-minute service game at 4-3 in the opening set. “I’m so happy that I was able to play my tennis and my game plan was working. This was, so far I think, my best match, I’m so happy that I’m here, that I’m enjoying the game, that I’m entertaining the crowd … I’m just super happy.”

Krejcikova will play Sloane Stephens, the former US Open champion, in round four. The 59th-ranked American, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2018, edged an error-strewn contest against Karolina Muchova, the 18th seed, 6-3, 7-5.

Kenin, last year’s beaten finalist and the highest seed left in the women’s draw, came through a tough contest against fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

“I was just fighting out there, she’s such a tough player. I knew the third set would be really tough and I’m just proud of myself for hanging in there and battling it out,” said Kenin, who will play Maria Sakkari next after the 17th-seeded Greek beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2. “My expectations are to take just one match at a time and enjoy the moment.”

Swiatek, the defending champion, beat Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 and will face the Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk, who won 6-1, 6-2 against Russia’s Varvara Grachev, in round four.

Kontaveit had won both her previous meetings with Swiatek, but the Pole held her nerve after falling a break behind early on to extend her tally of straight-sets victories in Paris to 10.

“It’s good to have matches like that because it keeps you down-to-earth and you have to just be careful on every point and on every game. “I’m just happy that I’m able to play solid deciding balls and really solid in important moments,” said Swiatek. “That’s the most important thing for me.”

Coco Gauff of the United States moved into the last 16 after Jennifer Brady was forced to retire with a foot injury. Gauff was leading 6-1 when her compatriot called for medical assistance before pulling out. She will now play Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who defeated Magda Linette 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.

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