Davidovich Fokina beats Djokovic in Monte Carlo

Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina shakes hand with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic after their second-round match at the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday. (Reuters)

• A three-set loss for the World No. 1, who has played only 4 matches in the 2022 season World number one Novak Djokovic crashed to a three-set defeat in only his fourth match of the season, falling 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 to unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday. The 20-times Grand Slam champion endured a tough start to the year as he was unable to defend his Australian Open title in January after being deported from the country for being unvaccinated against Covid-19. Djokovic, who only played three matches in Dubai ahead of the Masters 1000 event in Monaco, struggled to find his range early in the contest as Spaniard Davidovich Fokina raced to a 4-1 lead before taking the opening set on Court Rainier III. The world number 46 grabbed an early break in the second set to go up 3-0 but Djokovic battled back before overcoming issues with a wobbly serve to level the contest following a tight tiebreak. Fokina then raised his game in the decider, preying on mistakes made by a tiring Djokovic and completed the victory as the Serb found the net. “This win is so special to me because I grew up watching Nole (Djokovic) and I’m a big fan of his,” Davidovich Fokina said in his post-match interview. “I knew Nole didn’t have the confidence because he didn’t play a lot this season... I had my chances in the beginning of the match and I took them. “When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I work hard to be focused. I had to be prepared for the war.” Djokovic said he felt drained of energy towards the end of his loss to Fokina, admitting that the defeat was almost inevitable going into the final set. “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,” Djokovic, who has triumphed in Monaco twice, said. “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.” Djokovic said he hoped to build his form for the French Open starting next month, where he will defend his crown. “That’s the big goal of the clay season,” Djokovic said. “I knew a few days ago when I spoke to you... that it’s going to take time for me to really feel my best on the clay. That’s historically always been the case. “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.” Also yesterday, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who did not lose a set en route to the title last year, began his defence with a comfortable 6-3 6-0 win over 2019 champion Fabio Fognini of Italy.