End of an Era: Novak Djokovic Bids Farewell to Tennis After Shocking Monte Carlo Defeat to Rising Star SEEMORE ..

Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters with a straight sets defeat to Alejandro Tabilo. The Chilean had beaten the world No 5 on clay in Rome last year and built on a solid start to the second-round match before securing a 6-3, 6-4 win in just under an hour and a half on Court Rainier III.

Tabilo, ranked 32 in the world, broke twice in the opening set, with Djokovic looking rather subdued playing his first match on clay since winning Olympic gold last summer. Djokovic’s wayward returns continued to prove costly as Tabilo – who beat Stan Wawrinka in the first round – built on an early break in the second before closing out an impressive victory to take his place in the last 16.

“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this. It was horrible,” Djokovic told the ATP’s official site. “I knew I’m going to have a tough opponent and probably play pretty bad. But this bad, I didn’t expect. A horrible feeling to play this way, and just sorry for all the people that have to witness this.”

Tabilo will next face 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who recovered from a set down against wildcard Valentin Vacherot to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory. Djokovic’s wait for a 100th ATP Tour title goes on, having lost to the teenager Jakub Mensik in last month’s Miami Masters final.

“I just tried to remember what I did well last time,” Tabilo said in his courtside interview. “Thankfully I served well today and it helped me a lot. It was an unreal match.”

Carlos Alcaraz had earlier battled to a first Monte Carlo win as the world No 3 recovered after losing the opening set to beat Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. Alcaraz had lost his previous two matches, in the Indian Wells semi-finals to Jack Draper and then in Miami against the veteran Belgian David Goffin.

The 21-year-old, already a four-time grand slam champion, regrouped for the second set, before Cerundolo’s serve faltered in the decider.

“I didn’t start well. I made a lot of mistakes and I let him play inside the court, dominating the points,” Alcaraz said. “I just knew that I had to do something else, play more aggressively, and play my own tennis: drop shots, going to the net. I tried to return closer to the line and push him.”

Alcaraz will play Daniel Altmaier in the third round after the German qualifier beat Richard Gasquet 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 on what was the veteran Frenchman’s last appearance in the event before his intended retirement after the French Open.

Casper Ruud had little trouble as the fourth seed dispatched the veteran Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-1, while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry 7-6 (2), 6-3 and will next play Jack Draper, the British No 1.

Andrey Rublev, the tournament winner in 2023, marked his first match under his new coach, Marat Safin, with a straight-sets 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Gaël Monfils while Alex De Minaur, France’s Arthur Fils and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy were other seeds to win on Wednesday.

De Minaur joined fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in a notable comeback triumph as both players offered glimpses they could enjoy their best seasons yet on the surface as they both came from a set down.

In the year after De Minaur finally began to feel like a clay-courter by reaching the French Open quarter-finals, the world No 10 produced an emphatic comeback to subdue Czech Tomas Machac 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 and set up a last-16 clash with Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev took 12 minutes short of three hours to book his place in the next round, defeating Alexandre Müller 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-2, but 14th seed Frances Tiafoe bowed out, beaten in three sets by Popyrin.