Novak Djokovic had a rough time at one of his beloved tournaments, the Italian Open. He was defeated by 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round on Sunday. This match was Djokovic’s first since accidentally getting hit on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his first-round win on Friday.
Things didn’t start well for Djokovic, as he began with a double fault, and it didn’t improve much from there. He lost his first two service games and eventually the match, 6-2, 6-3, in just 68 minutes. The defeat came when he double-faulted for the fifth time, leading to boos from the crowd.
This loss was Djokovic’s worst performance at the Italian Open.
Previously, he had only lost once to a player outside the top 10 in Rome, and he had never been eliminated before the quarterfinals.
Djokovic’s exit followed Rafael Nadal’s loss in the third round to Hubert Hurkacz, the 10-time Rome champion losing 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday.
Although Djokovic had claimed he was “fine” after the water bottle incident, his performance was below par. This comes as he aims to improve on clay before defending his title at the French Open, starting on May 26.
