Novak Djokovic loses to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in first round of Monte Carlo Masters clay court tournament

Novak Djokovic opened his clay court season with a surprising loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

Round of 32 

Round of 64 (selected)

Davidovich Fokina stunned the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-7 (7/5), 6-1 in the second round to hand Djokovic another setback as he tries to move on from the controversy surrounding his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

It makes for rare back-to-back losses for Djokovic, who had not played since being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February — his only previous tournament this yearafter he was barred from playing at the Australian Open.

Djokovic struggled from the start as the 46th-ranked Spaniard broke him early to pull ahead 4-1 before another break handed him the first set.

Davidovich Fokina kept up the pressure and led 3-0 in the second before Djokovic clawed back. But the Serb continued to struggle on his serve and was broken three times in the decider.

«He was the better player,» Djokovic said. «I was hanging on the ropes the entire match.»

The Serb said he was too exhausted to put up a fight in the third set.

«I collapsed,» Djokovic said. «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.»

Djokovic had beaten Davidovich Fokina in straight sets twice last year in their only career meetings, in Rome and at the Tokyo Olympics.

«I'm so happy for the win today,» Davidovich Fokina said. «I missed [Djokovic] on the tour.»

Djokovic could not defend his Australian Open title in January after he was deported from the country for not being vaccinated. He had to skip tournaments in Indian Wells, California, and Miami because he couldn't travel to the