The return to clay did not work for Novak Djokovic. Before his first game on this surface this season and when he competed in the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo on Tuesday 12 April, the Serb was eliminated by Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three sets 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1†
Novak Djokovic defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-7 6-1!
Last game at Court Rainier III. Shock between the last 2 winners of the tournament, Fabio Fognini and Stefanos Tsitsipas.#rolexmcmasters #mccc #Monaco #tennis #atptour #masters1000 pic.twitter.com/qGMB0G3AW7
— ROLEX MCMASTERS (@ROLEXMCMASTERS) Apr 12, 2022
In a tense match, the world No. 1 who has only played for the fourth time since his exclusion from the Australian Open last January (he had not been able to play the US tour because he had not been vaccinated), nevertheless managed to get off to a bad start. second set (it was trailing 2-0), before collapsing in the third set and slipping Davidovich Fokina away. Two-time winner of the Tournament on the Rock (2013, 2015), knocked out in the round of 16 last year, the record holder for Masters 1000 wins is already over. His opponent will face the winner of the meeting between David Goffin and Daniel Evans in the round of 16.
For his return to the front of the podium, Djokovic did not reassure. Despite a first game in his favour, the Serb was startled very early on by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s precise attacks, looking for good shots. Broken three times, too messy to hope for better, the number 1 in the world had to take the first set.
His opponent went on the attack early in the second set and took the first two games. But Djokovic took the suits and found the strength to fight on points, like the third game, which lasted almost 15 minutes. This is also evident in his crazy comeback from three games to nothing, at (5-3), before winning the second set in the deciding game (7-5) and returning to the Spaniard.
After a hard-fought start to the third set, Djokovic bit the dust, weighed down by the numerous fouls, especially at the net. The encounter clearly ended in favor of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, after almost 3 hours of fighting. As the author of his best performance of the year in the Masters 1000, the Spaniard wins for the second time in his career from a player in the top 10 in the world. For Novak Djokovic there is no 38th title in the Masters 1000 in Monaco this week. The Serb will leave Monte-Carlo for the rest of the season with questions and doubts about his form.
