World
Novak Djokovic: World No 1 suffers shock straight-sets defeat by Alejandro Tabilo at Italian Open
Six-time champion Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Italian Open after
suffering a comprehensive defeat to world No 32 Alejandro Tabilo in Rome.
Chile’s Tabilo took full advantage of an error-strewn performance from world No 1 Djokovic to storm to a one-sided 6-2 6-3 victory in just 67 minutes.
Seeking the 1,100th win of his career, Djokovic – who said he felt the effects of being accidentally struck by a bottle in the previous round – committed 22 unforced errors, served five double faults and failed to create a single break point on his left-handed opponent’s serve.
The tone for the contest was set early on when Djokovic saved three break points in the opening game, two with aces and the third with a sublime drop shot from behind the baseline, only to serve a double fault after Tabilo created a fourth break point opportunity.
Two brilliant winners then gave Tabilo a second break for 3-0 and the 26-year-old showed no signs of nerves as he served out for the set with the minimum of fuss after just 31 minutes.
Fans expecting a determined response from Djokovic were in for a shock when he instead started the second set with consecutive double faults to lose his serve once more, the 24-time Grand Slam winner strangely rushing through his service games.
Tabilo continued to hold serve with ease and fittingly it was another Djokovic double fault on the first match point which sealed the biggest win of the 29th seed’s career to date.
“I came on court just looking around, just trying to soak it all in, trying to process everything and now I just can’t believe it. I’m trying to wake up right now,” said Tabilo.
“I was just trying to keep my nerves in, keep swinging. Obviously every time you feel you’re closer to the end your arm starts to get a little tighter so I was just trying to not think about it, take it point by point and it’s crazy.
“I can’t believe what just happened.”
Djokovic: I felt like a completely different player
Djokovic, who was struck on the head by a bottle from a spectator’s backpack following his second-round victory over Corentin Moutet on Friday, said his performance against Tabilo was concerning.
“I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it’s okay. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it’s not,” he said.
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Djokovic was struck on the head by a bottle while he was signing autographs on Friday
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Djokovic saw the funny side of things when he turned up in a helmet to practise on Saturday
“The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It’s a bit concerning.
“I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.
“Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from two nights ago.
“I don’t know. I have to do medical check-ups and see what’s going on.”
Tale of the Tape
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