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Serbia's Novak Djokovic, right, hugs Chile's Alejandro Tabilo after their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Alessandra Tarantino, AP Photo

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, right, hugs Chile's Alejandro Tabilo after their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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Italian Open

Associated Press

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1715576321177AP24133531336059_embed.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Serbia&#x27;s Novak Djokovic, right, hugs Chile&#x27;s Alejandro Tabilo after their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Alessandra Tarantino, AP Photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Serbia&#x27;s Novak Djokovic, right, hugs Chile&#x27;s Alejandro Tabilo after their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Sunday, May 12, 2024. <em>Alessandra Tarantino, AP Photo</em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">ROME (AP) — Novak Djokovic&#x27;s performance was so poor on Sunday that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was &quot;concerning.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Djokovic put on one of his worst displays at one of his favorite tournaments as he was upset by 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It was Djokovic&#x27;s first match since accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it&#x27;s okay. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it&#x27;s not,&quot; Djokovic said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It&#x27;s a bit concerning.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Djokovic started off with a double-fault and it didn&#x27;t get much better for the six-time Rome champion.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The top-ranked Djokovic lost his first two service games and went on to lose the match 6-2, 6-3 in just 68 minutes, handing Tabilo the victory when he double-faulted – his fifth of the match – amid boos at the Foro Italico.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I&#x27;m trying to soak it all in and wake up right now,&quot; Tabilo said after the biggest win of his career. &quot;I was just trying to keep my nerves in and keep swinging. Towards the end my arms were getting tired but I was trying not to think about it.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;It&#x27;s crazy, I just can&#x27;t believe what&#x27;s happened. I can&#x27;t believe it right now. I don&#x27;t think anyone can believe it.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The third-round loss marked Djokovic&#x27;s worst performance at the Italian Open. He had lost only once before to an opponent outside the top 10 in Rome, where he had never gone out before the quarterfinals.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Djokovic followed Rafael Nadal to an early exit after the record 10-time Rome champion lost his third-round match to Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/5/12/tennis-nadal-eyes-french-open-despite-rome-exit-1648"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/5/12/tennis-nadal-eyes-french-open-despite-rome-exit-1648">READ: Nadal eyes French Open despite Rome exit as Djokovic laughs off bottle drama</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">While Djokovic had said he was &quot;fine&quot; after the water bottle incident, it was an unusually off-key performance from the Serb as he tries to step up his game on clay before attempting to defend his title at the French Open, which starts on May 26.</span></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3035765"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn&#x27;t feel anything, but I also didn&#x27;t feel the same,&quot; Djokovic said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Today under high stress, it was quite bad — not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from two nights ago ... I don&#x27;t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what&#x27;s going on.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Djokovic had 12 unforced errors to Tabilo&#x27;s four and produced 14 winners to his opponent&#x27;s 22. It was also a rare occasion when he had zero break point chances.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He was broken four times in the match, including in the final game, and Djokovic could only shake his head when another unforced error handed Tabilo match point.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Djokovic is still without a title this year — the first time he&#x27;s reached May without a trophy since 2018, when he was returning from a right elbow injury.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tabilo next faces 16th-seeded Karen Khachanov, who beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Third-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced after the 2017 Rome champion beat Luciano Darderi of Italy 7-6 (3), 6-2. Grigor Dimitrov and Thiago Monteiro also advanced, while Taylor Fritz beat American compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4. Another American, Ben Shelton, lost to Zhang Zhizhen.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In the women&#x27;s tournament, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased through to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dayana Yastremska.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">American Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and also reached the final at Roland Garros the same year, was upset by Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">American Danielle Collins is safely through after beating Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3. Also advancing in third-round matches were Maria Sakkari, Irina-Camelia Begu, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/5/6/rublev-overcomes-fever-wins-madrid-open-for-the-1st-time-1254"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/5/6/rublev-overcomes-fever-wins-madrid-open-for-the-1st-time-1254">READ: Rublev overcomes fever and praises doctors after winning Madrid Open for the 1st time</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Novak Djokovic's performance was so poor on Sunday that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was "concerning."</p>

Novak Djokovic's performance was so poor on Sunday that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was "concerning."

Djokovic follows Nadal to early exit at Italian Open in first match after being hit by water bottle

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Djokovic follows Nadal to early exit at Italian Open in first match after being hit by water bottle

Associated Press

Published May 13, 2024 02:54 PM PHT

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Updated May 13, 2024 09:51 PM PHT

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abssports

tennis

Italian Open

Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal

Alejandro Tabilo

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