On Sunday, Novak Djokovic had such a dismal performance that even the 24-time Grand Slam winner had to call it “concerning.”
Djokovic lost to 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the Italian Open third round, putting on one of his poorest performances at one of his favourite events.
It was Djokovic’s first match since his opening victory on Friday, when he unintentionally struck himself on the head while collecting autographs.
That has had a significant influence on me. Following that, I received medical attention, and I had nausea, vertigo, and blood for thirty to an hour,” Djokovic said at a press conference. He also mentioned that he will have scans later. “I had a good night’s sleep. I felt that it was okay since the next day, or yesterday, went rather well. Perhaps everything is OK, perhaps not.”It seemed like a whole new player stepped into my shoes the way I felt on the floor today. Simply said, there is never any rhythm, pace, or balance on any shot. It’s a little alarming.
With his first double fault, Djokovic’s six-time Rome champion matchup didn’t get any better.
In only 68 minutes, the top-ranked Djokovic dropped his first two service games and the match 6-2, 6-3. Tabilo’s sixth double-faul of the match in front of jeers at the Foro Italico gave Tabilo the win.
Following his greatest career victory, Tabilo commented, “I’m trying to soak it all in and wake up right now.” “I was only trying to maintain my composure and continue hitting. My arms were becoming fatigued towards the finish, but I was making an effort not to worry about it.I just can’t believe what has occurred; it’s insane. Right now I find it hard to believe. I doubt that anybody will find it credible.”
It was Djokovic’s poorest performance of the Italian Open, losing in the third round. In Rome, where he had never lost until the quarterfinals, he had only lost once before against a rival ranked outside the top ten.
After Rafael Nadal, the record 10-time Rome winner, lost his third-round match against Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday, 6-1, 6-3, Djokovic too had to leave the tournament early.
Although Djokovic had said that he was “fine” after the incident with the water bottle, the Serb’s performance on clay, where he hopes to improve before trying to defend his championship at the French Open starting on May 26, was remarkably off-key.
“Yesterday, I went for some simple training. Djokovic said, “I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.”
“Under extreme stress today, it was very awful—not in terms of pain, but in terms of this equilibrium. Simply said, not coordinated. The player from two nights ago has completely changed. I’m not sure. I have to see the doctor and find out what’s going on.”
Compared to Tabilo’s four unforced mistakes, Djokovic made 14 winners compared to his opponent’s 22. He had zero break point opportunities, which was an uncommon occurrence.
In the match, he broke four times, including in the decider, and Djokovic could only shake his head as Tabilo took advantage of another unforced mistake to earn match point.
For the first time since 2018, while he was recuperating from a right elbow injury, Djokovic has reached May without a championship this year.
Karen Khachanov, ranked 16th, will be Tabilo’s next opponent. Karen defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4.
The 2017 Rome winner, Alexander Zverev, defeated Italian Luciano Darderi 7-6 (3), 6-2, to move up to the third seed. Additionally making progress were Grigor Dimitrov and Thiago Monteiro, while American rival Sebastian Korda was defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Taylor Fritz. Ben Shelton, another American, was defeated by Zhang Zhizhen.
Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round of the women’s competition.
Rebecca Sramkova, a qualifier from Slovakia, defeated American Sofia Kenin, who had been to the final at Roland Garros and won the Australian Open, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Danielle Collins, an American, defeated Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3 to advance without any problems. In third-round matches, Victoria Azarenka, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenko, Maria Sakkari, and Irina-Camelia Begu all advanced.
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Alejandro Tabilo upsets Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open.
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