Both feet on the mat two weeks before the start of Roland-Garros. Sunday, Novak Djokovic was knocked out badly in the 3rd round of the Masters 1000 in Rome by the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (26 years old and 32nd in the world) in two sets (6-2, 6-3). “You have to congratulate my opponent, I had never faced him. He is a good player, very complete, I was not able to find good sensations on the court,” said the Serb after his defeat. “I was completely off base, lacking rhythm and balance,” he continued, lucidly, at a press conference.
This defeat nevertheless falls in a somewhat particular context. Indeed, Friday evening, the “Djoker” was knocked unconscious by a water bottle that fell from a spectator’s bag while he was signing autographs after his easy victory against Frenchman Corentin Moutet (6-3, 6-1) . “I can’t say (if what happened Friday) had an impact. We will have to do exams,” explained “Djoko” who has still not won a title in 2024.
“I have to improve everything, really everything”
With his skull cut, he was able to quickly return to his hotel, without going to a hospital, and trained normally the next day. “In training I didn’t feel anything negative, but today I didn’t feel like myself. Under the effect of stress, I was not the same player as on Friday,” underlined the Serbian, winner of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Now free of his time between now and the start of Roland on May 26, Novak Djokovic announced that he was going to “have to do examinations and a scan, which I did not do here”. But this unfortunate accident does not explain everything and, aware of his current shortcomings, Djoko knows it: “I have to improve everything, really everything,” he warned. Get to work, then.