Novak-Djokovic-sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

The world number one Novak Djokovic suffered a stunning 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 defeat against 46th-ranked Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the Monte Carlo Open. This was Djokovic’s first match after losing in the quarter-finals of the Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships in February. 

Fokina broke three times in the first set as Djokovic made 16 unforced errors in the frame. Then after going down in the first set, Djokovic came back to win the second set in a nail-biting tie-breaker. But then Davidovich once again continued to dominate and beat the Serbian. 

“This win is so special for me because I grew up watching Nole and I'm a big fan of his,” said Davidovich Fokina during his on-court interview after the win. “I look at him every tournament, every match. Here in Monte Carlo, full of people, against the No. 1, I enjoyed every moment and I'm so happy, ” he added. 

Fokina also talked about having a great start to the match and said,  “I started [well] from the beginning because I knew that Nole [hasn’t played] a lot. Then I had to focus on every point because I had my chances from the beginning and I just did it".

“When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I am working so hard to be more focused. It doesn't matter if I lost the second set or I lost the first set. I have to be prepared for the war,” he added.

Novak Djokovic, while speaking in the post-match interview expressed his discontent with the defeat in Monte Carlo. 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.”

"I didn't like the way I felt physically in the third set. I just ran out of the 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. 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", concluded Djokovic.