MONTE CARLO—Novak Djokovic said he felt drained of energy towards the end of his loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday, admitting that the defeat was almost inevitable going into the final set.
Playing in his fourth match of the season after he was denied a chance to defend his Australian Open title in January due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic was broken nine times and made 51 unforced errors in a 6–3 6–7(5) 6–1 defeat by the Spaniard.
“I’m disappointed. No one likes to lose. We’re professional athletes. This is what we do. We go out on the court to compete and try to win against each other,” Djokovic, who has triumphed in Monaco twice, told reporters.
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