- Djokovic was defeated in straight sets by Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo.
- The 37-year-old conceded that he didn’t have an explanation for his performance.
- Djokovic highlighted the French Open as his upcoming key objective for this season.
Novak Djokovic provided a scathing evaluation of his 'dreadful' showing against Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo, even going to the extent of apologizing to those who 'had to endure this.'
During his initial clay court contest of the year, the 37-year-old player lost with scores of 6-3, 6-4 against world-ranked No. 32 Tabilo. In response to being told that it might not have been his finest day, he stated: "It was actually closer to my worst day."
'I must say, I really hoped it wouldn’t turn out like this, but with pretty good odds, I was likely to end up playing this way.'
'I'm not sure. It was terrible. Terribly frustrating to perform like this, and I feel awful for everyone who had to watch.'
When asked for an explanation, he responded: "I'm unsure. It's with me, yet it isn’t. Honestly, I couldn't be less concerned."
Despite his usual openness and talkativeness with the media even after losses, Djokovic was different this time. He showcased exceptional tennis skills to make it to the finals in Miami, only to be defeated by the impressive Jakub Mensik.
Before that particular match, the Serb suffered from an eye infection and was spotted clutching his arm during practice sessions in Monte Carlo. He dismissed concerns by stating, "It's nothing serious; just a small issue." When questioned about whether the eye problem persisted, he clarified, “I’m not injured.”
Djokovic said before the tournament that he had low expectations given the change of surface from hard to clay and his limited preparation.
However, he seemed visibly disturbed by the lack of opposition he offered to a player who had secured merely three victories in 2025 before arriving at Monte Carlo.
'I thought I would manage at least a respectable showing,' stated Djokovic. 'Certainly not like this. It was terrible.'
'I didn’t have very high hopes going into it, honestly. I was aware that my competitor would be strong and expected myself to perform quite poorly. However, this level of poor performance was beyond what I anticipated.'
When asked about his objectives for this season, Djokovic responded, "Roland Garros, that's all." This statement highlights one of his challenges—given he has already secured 24 Grand Slam titles, it's getting increasingly harder for him to find motivation for regular tournaments.
For the second time in two years, Tabilo has surprised Djokovic on clay ground, following their encounter in Rome last year. This achievement makes the 27-year-old Chilean one of only seven players ever to maintain a winning record against the legendary Djokovic across at least two matches.
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