World No. 1 Novak Djokovic Upset In 2nd Round At Monte Carlo In Return To Action

Novak Djokovic’s stay at the Monte Carlos Masters did not last long.

The world No. 1 was upset by Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, in extremely windy conditions in the second round of the event which Djokovic has won twice.

It was the biggest win ever for the 22-year-old Spaniard, ranked No. 46 in the world. He had been 1-12 against Top 10 players and 0-5 against Top 5 opponents.

Djokovic lost his second straight match and first since falling to Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic on Feb. 24 in Dubai. It was Djokovic’s earliest lost at Monte Carlo since 2016 and his second straight loss to an opponent ranked outside the top 40. The Serb was broken nine times in the best-of-3 match for the first time in his career. He committed 51 unforced errors against 27 winners.

“I would like to congratulate Alejandro. He was the better player. He managed to find a better rhythm I think in the first two sets,” said Djokovic.

“I don’t like that kind of feeling I experienced. I’m going to look with my team for reasons why that was the case and go back to the drawing board. Hopefully next week will be better in Belgrade.”

Davidovich Fokina earned a double-break en route to taking the first set and then scored an early break to go ahead 2-0 in the second set.

The Spaniard was diving and laying out all over the court and ended up with red clay on his shirt and blood on his knuckles and knees. He scooped up a Djokovic drop set to hit a crosscourt forehand winner to go ahead 4-2 in the second.

Yet Djokovic fought back to take the second set in the breaker and pumped his fist when he leveled the match at one set apiece.

Often in such matches, the man seeking the upset will fade against an all-time great in the third set, but that was not the case this time. Davidovich Fokina was the steadier player in the third set and raced out to a 5-1 lead.

“I always believed that I could come back and win the match,” Djokovic said. “I stayed there even though a lot of things were against me in terms of how I felt on court. Game-wise, physically I was just far from my best. I’m going to keep going and hopefully build my form for Roland Garros.

“So of course in those types of conditions and circumstances, then you have to really work two times more than you normally would. And again, I played a clay-court specialist. He had a match already on centre court a few days ago.

“I expected this match to be [a] really tough match, [a] physical battle, and that’s what it was. Unfortunately I’m on the shorter end of the stick, and my week ends here.”

Djokovic, 34, is 2-2 in 2022 and has only played four matches. The 20-time Grand Slam winner was unable to compete in the Australian Open in January because he was deported ahead of the tournament due to being unvaccinated against Covid-19, and was also unable to play the “Sunshine Swing” in Indian Wells and Miami last month.

He will need more match play before the French Open which runs May 22-June 5, and will next play in Belgrade (April 18-24). He has yet to confirm if he will play Madrid and Rome.

“I knew a few days ago when I spoke to you that it’s going to take some time for me to really feel my best on the clay,” he said. “That’s historically always been the case. I’ve never played very well in the opening tournaments of the clay season.

“But it’s okay. Obviously it is what it is. I have to accept the defeat and keep working.”

Said Tennis Channel analyst Paul Annacone: “I just think it’s not a big deal. He doesn’t want to lose but he wants to make sure he’s playing his best tennis at Roland Garros.”