Novak Djokovic stunned on return as world number one’s slump continues
World number one Novak Djokovic has suffered consecutive defeats after losing 6-3 6-7 (7-5) 6-1 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who was playing for the first time in six weeks after not being able to compete in the US, struggled on his first clay-court match of the season.
The 34-year-old was broken nine times throughout the contest as his opponent, ranked 45 places lower, claimed a memorable win.
“This win is so special to me because I grew up watching Nole [Djokovic] and I’m a big fan of his,” Fokina said post-match.
“I knew Nole didn’t have the confidence because he didn’t play a lot this season.
“I had my chances in the beginning of the match and I took them. When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I work hard to be focused. I had to be prepared for the war.”
Djokovic’s last match in Dubai at the end of February also ended in a surprise defeat at the hands of Jiri Vesely.
Stunning the Monaco establishment 🤴
The moment @alexdavidovich1 secured the biggest win of his career against 2x #RolexMCMasters champ Djokovic! pic.twitter.com/fdXvA55g6o
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 12, 2022
Will Djokovic remain world number one?
Despite winning just two of his four matches so far in 2022, Djokovic reclaimed his world no.1 ranking recently after Daniil Medvedev failed to progress far enough at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Medvedev confirmed at the start of April that he had surgery on a hernia and will miss up to two months of action.
That means Djokovic is not at risk of losing his top ranking anytime soon despite an unexpected defeat on clay.
World number three Alexander Zverev is looming as a possible challenger but is currently 1,225 ATP points behind Djokovic.
If Zverev wins the title at Monte Carlo, however, that gap would close considerably and the German would be a real chance of becoming no.1 soon despite having not yet won a Grand Slam.
Current ATP men’s singles rankings
Ranking | Change | Name | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | – | Novak Djokovic | 8,420 |
2 | – | Daniil Medvedev | 8,410 |
3 | – | Alexander Zverev | 7,195 |
4 | – | Rafael Nadal | 7,115 |
5 | – | Stafanos Tsitsipas | 5,980 |
6 | – | Matteo Berrettini | 4,945 |
7 | – | Casper Ruud | 4,380 |
8 | – | Andrey Rublev | 4,375 |
9 | – | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 3,625 |
10 | – | Cameron Norrie | 3,440 |