Novak Djokovic opened his clay court season with a surprising defeat to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters. Davidovich Fokina stunned the world no.1, 6-3, 6-7 (7/5), 6-1 in the second round to hand the Serb a shocking loss.
The defeat makes for rare back-to-back losses for Djokovic. He has not played since being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February. Dubai – his only previous tournament this year after he was barred from playing at the Australian Open.
The world no.1 still urges patience and insists a strong game at Roland Garros remains his “ultimate goal”. At the press conference after the match he said, “I’m disappointed. No one likes to lose. We’re professional athletes. This is what we do. We go out on the court to compete and try to win against each other.”
Novak Djokovic reacts to his defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters
Novak Djokovic struggled from the start as Davidovich Fokina broke him early to pull ahead 4-1 before another break handed him the first set.
Fokina kept up the pressure and led 3-0 in the second round before Novak Djokovic fought back. However, the Serb continued to struggle on his serve and was broken three times in the decider. Novak said he became too exhausted to put up a fight in the third set.
“I didn’t like the way I felt physically in the third set. I collapsed and I just ran out of gas completely. Just couldn’t really stay in the rally with him. If you can’t stay in the rally, not feeling your legs on the clay, it’s mission impossible.”
Next up for Nole is the Serbian Open, his home tournament, which runs from April 18 to April 24. The tournament is hosted at the Novak Tennis Centre and he has won the event on two prior occasions.
After the defeat to Davidovich Fokina, Djokovic reflected on his own performance but also found the optimism to look ahead to Belgrade. He said, “So I don’t like that feeling I experienced in the third set. But I’m going to look with my team into reasons why that was the case and go back to the drawing board. And hopefully next week will be better in Belgrade.”
Nole looking for to the 2022 Roland Garros
Novak Djokovic could not defend his Australian Open title after he got deported from the country for not being vaccinated. He had to skip tournaments in Indian Wells, California, and Miami because he couldn’t travel to the United States for the same reason.
Great seeing you back in action today, @DjokerNole 🙏#RolexMCMasters pic.twitter.com/3ZV5FMR3rc
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 12, 2022
The government and tennis authorities in France and Monaco lifted most Covid-19 restrictions last month. With the restrictions gone, they are allowing people who aren’t vaccinated into the country and back into restaurants, sports arenas and other venues.
With no restrictions Djokovic will be able to play at the French Open, which remains his “big goal of the clay season”. He said, “Never played very well in the opening tournaments of the clay season. But it’s OK… I have to accept the defeat and keep working.… and hopefully build my form for Roland Garros.”