'It was horrible': Novak Djokovic Chastises Himself After Woeful Defeat to World No.32 in Monte Carlo

Novak Djokovic's Clay season starts on a disappointing note as he lost to world no. 32, Alejandro Tabilo, in straight sets in the Monte Carlo opener on Wednesday. The defeat came as a big setback for the Serbian as it deflated all the momentum, he gained during the Miami Open. Djokovic reached the final of the ATP tournament but suffered a woeful loss in the tournament's concluder to Jakub Mensik. Barring the final, it was a much-improved Djokovic on display in Miami, and based on the performance, he looked set to ride on the confidence but got inflicted by yet another devastating early elimination.

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Novak Djokovic Expresses Disappointment After Shock Loss in Monte Carlo

Following the culmination of the match, the 24-time Grand Slam winner expressed dissatisfaction with his performance, and attributed his performance as "horrible".

“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this. It was horrible,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic further added that he somewhat envisaged a below-par show but got surprised by his performance, which was even more substandard than what he had imagined. Nevertheless, he did give the props to his Chilean opponent.

“I did not have high expectations. I knew I’m going to have a tough opponent and I knew I’m going to probably play pretty bad. But this bad, I didn’t expect.

“I was hoping it was not going to happen, but it was quite a high probability I’m going to play this way. I don’t know. [It was] just horrible.

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100th Title Is Close But Far

Novak Djokovic needs to brush aside the Monte Carlo loss as soon as possible and look forward to the upcoming tournaments. Djokovic, 37, is searching for the elusive 25th Grand Slam glory and his 100th title overall. He has been denied the milestone quite a few times and the pressure is building up. It will be intriguing to note how the perceived GOAT of the game will deal with this touch phase and grab the glory which is just a step away. Djokovic will feature in the Madrid Open next, which is scheduled to start on April 23.