Novak Djokovic has claimed he “collapsed physically” after being beaten on his return to action in Monte Carlo. Djokovic, 34, was playing just his fourth match of 2022 as he came up against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. And having dug deep to level matters in a second set tie-break, the world No 1 then fell away in the decider to exit the tournament at the first hurdle.
However, he appeared more than rusty, losing the first set 6-3 before responding with a battling second set, which he eventually took on a tie-break [7-5]. However, it was Fokina, 22, who then dominated the decider, taking it 6-1 having broken his opponent’s serve nine times in all.
After afterwards, Djokovic admitted to being unhappy with his condition. He said: “Physically I completely collapsed. I couldn’t move any more. I didn’t like the way I felt in the end. I need to talk with my team.”
“He was the better player. I was hanging on the ropes the entire match. I just ran out of gas completely. If you can’t stay in the rally, not feeling your legs on the clay, it’s mission impossible.”
DON’T MISS:
Novak Djokovic conqueror Davidovich Fokina’s coach spotted in tears after Monte Carlo win
Novak Djokovic dumped out of Monte Carlo Masters by world No 46 on tennis return
Rafael Nadal to skip Barcelona with injury throwing French Open into doubt
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
