“This win is so special for me,” Alejandro Davidovich Fokina expresses his delight after scoring a win against Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic's return to clay wasn't as smooth as he had hoped. In the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Serb was eliminated by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships against Jiri Vesely, the No. 1 ATP player was returning after a long absence. He couldn’t even defend his 21st Grand Slam, which Rafael Nadal won by overcoming Russia’s World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev. Following his disputed medical exemption and Visa revocation, Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia.
Novak Djokovic’s return to clay wasn’t as smooth as he had hoped. In the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Serb was eliminated by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard with the biggest win of his career outlasted World No. 1 in a match that was majorly dominated by Davidovich as he beat Djokovic with the score of 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 to advance to the third round.
“I grew up watching Nole”- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Coming into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had only won seven games in two previous meetings with Novak Djokovic, but the World No. 46 exorcised his demons with a shocking upset on the Monaco clay on Tuesday. The Spaniard hit the ball with power and precision throughout the second-round match, overcoming the anguish of losing a tight second-set tie-break to win the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
“This win is so special for me because I grew up watching Nole and I’m a big fan of his,” said Davidovich Fokina in his on-court interview. “I look at him every tournament, every match. Here in Monte Carlo, full of people, against the No. 1, I enjoyed every moment and I’m so happy. I started [well] from the beginning because I knew that Nole [hasn’t played] a lot. Then I had to focus on every point because I had my chances from the beginning and I just did it,” the 22-year old added.
The Spaniard went on to explain that the 2nd set win of Novak Djokovic took a toll on him mentally, however, he knew that staying focused was the key. “When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I am working so hard to be more focused. It doesn’t matter if I lost the second set or I lost the first set. I have to be prepared for the war.”
Nevertheless, with a win over World No. 27 Daniel Evans or wild card David Goffin in the third round, Davidovich Fokina may match his Monte Carlo quarter-final performance from 2021.
“Rolland-Garros is the ultimate goal”- Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic, 34, has only played four matches in 2022 and is 2-2. The 20-time Grand Slam winner was unable to compete in the Australian Open in January after being deported due to the lack of Covid-19 vaccination, and he was also unable to participate in the “Sunshine doubles” in Indian Wells and Miami last month.
“I am testing my engine, so to say, and building my game, so it will take obviously some time, some matches to really get in the groove and find the competitive play that I really need,” he said Sunday in Monte Carlo. “Roland Garros is the ultimate goal in clay-court season.”
However, he will need more match play before the French Open which runs May 22-June 5, and still has opportunities on clay should he opt to play some combination of Belgrade, Madrid and Rome.
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