Novak Djokovic’s quest for a 100th ATP singles title suffered a setback as he exited the Monte Carlo Masters in a disappointing straight-set loss to Alejandro Tabilo.
The Serbian superstar, a two-time winner of the event, was defeated 6-3 6-4 by the Chilean player, who had previously beaten him at the Italian Open 11 months ago.
Djokovic, who had won his last 10 clay-court matches, including his Olympic gold medal run, was subdued in his performance, making 29 unforced errors compared to his 18 winners.
The 37-year-old admitted that he had played “horribly” and expressed disappointment with his display.
“I expected myself to at least put in a decent performance, not like this, it was horrible,” Djokovic said. “I did not have high expectations, but this bad, I didn’t expect.”
Meanwhile, other top players had more success in the tournament. Carlos Alcaraz rallied to a comeback victory over Francisco Cerundolo, winning 12 of the last 13 games for a 3-6 6-0 6-1 win.
Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 6-1, while Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev overcame Gael Monfils 6-4 7-6 (7-2).
Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur came from behind to defeat Tomas Machac, and Russian ninth seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alexandre Muller, also in three sets.
British player Jack Draper will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Thursday for a quarter-final spot.
