World No 1 Novak Djokovic is DUMPED OUT of Monte Carlo Masters by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
World No 1 Novak Djokovic is DUMPED OUT of Monte Carlo Masters by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his first match since mid-February… with vaccine-sceptic Serb’s preparations for his French Open title defence cut short
- Djokovic lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on his return to the ATP Tour
- The world number one was playing in his first tournament since February
- However, he was beaten 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-1 by the Spanish world number 46
Novak Djokovic has been dumped out of the Monte Carlo Masters by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who beat the world No 1 in straight sets on Tuesday.
But his return to the court in just over six weeks ended sooner than expected, following his 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-1 defeat to the Spanish world No 46.
Djokovic got off to a slow start with Davidovich Fokina storming into a dominant lead before the Serb clawed back a few points to make it 4-3.
However, Davidovich Fokina remained unfazed by the mini-comeback and sealed the first set in under 45 minutes.
It was much of the same in the second set, with Djokovic falling two games behind before he denied the Spaniard several break points and forcing deuce. But despite a resilient display, Davidovich Fokina held his nerve and won another match, making it 3-0.
Again, Djokovic took two quick games to make it 3-2 in the second to stage a comeback but the Spaniard responded immediately, creating a two-game deficit with a superb cross-court drop shot to make it 4-2.
Novak Djokovic was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters
Djokovic answered back and won three successive games before the two traded games forcing a tie-break at 6-6 before superbly winning it to force a third and final set.
Tuesday’s match was just his fourth since early December, with his last matches coming at the Dubai Championships in mid-February, where he won two rounds before being dumped out by Jiri Vesely.
The 20-times Grand Slam champion was unable to defend his Australian Open title in January after being deported from the country, having initially been admitted to the tournament despite not taking the vaccine.
The Spaniard dispatched the world No 1 at the Monte-Carlo Country Club
But now he is expected to play a full clay-court schedule ahead of the French Open in May, where he is expected to defend his crown.
Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka marked his return to Tour level competition for the first time in 13 months by showing glimpses of his old form at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday.
But the Swiss failed to get past Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters, losing 3-6 7-5 6-2 on Monday.
The three-times Grand Slam champion suffered a foot injury early in 2021 and had surgery in March last year before another operation three months later, only returning to action at a Challenger Tour tournament in Marbella last month.
Tuesday’s match was just the Serbian’s fourth since early December
Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka marked his return to Tour level competition for the first time in 13 months by showing glimpses of his old form at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday
While the 37-year-old was beaten in the first round of that event there were few signs of rustiness against world number 36 Bublik on Court Rainier III as he raced through the first set in only 27 minutes to seize the early advantage in the contest.
Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, squandered an opportunity to break Bublik early in the second set and staved off three set points to hold for 5-5 but could not prevent his determined Kazakh opponent from taking the contest into a decider.
Bublik found his groove to race ahead 5-1 in the third set as Wawrinka appeared to fade before the 24-year-old closed out the victory in style.
More to follow…
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
