We have not seen much of world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia on the tennis court this year. After not competing at the Australian Open or the American spring swing of the Masters 1000 Series due to his vaccination status, Djokovic has only played four matches in 2021.
In Dubai earlier this year, Djokovic beat Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and Karen Khachanov of Russia before losing to Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals of Dubai. Then on Tuesday, Djokovic lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.
In a match where we only saw one ace the entire match (by Djokovic), it was Djokovic who was steamrolled by Davidovich Fokina in the deciding set after evening the match at one set apiece thanks to a 7-5 win in a second set tiebreak. What was stunning from Davidovich Fokina’s win was the fact he broke Djokovic nine times and had 20 break point opportunities overall.
This was the third career match between Davidovich Fokina and Djokovic. In the previous two matches, Djokovic won 6-2, 6-1 in the third round of the Italian Open, and then 6-3, 6-1 in the third round of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
Davidovich Fokina will now play David Goffin of Belgium in the third round of Monte Carlo on Thursday. Goffin is entering Monte Carlo in top form as this past weekend he won his sixth career ATP event. In the final of Morocco, he beat Alex Molcan of Slovakia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. It was Goffin’s second ATP title on clay as he also beat Dominic Theim in the final of the 2014 Austrian Open, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
