ATP Masters Monte-Carlo: sensation all well and good, but ...!
Novak Djokovic 's opening defeat at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came unexpectedly and may have fascinated the neutral spectators. But was this bankruptcy good for the further course of the tournament?
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Apr 13, 2022, 09:17 am
From a purely sporting point of view, yesterday's Tuesday should be a distinctly Spanish one, regardless of whether it's in Monte Carlo, Madrid or Munich. And if the mini-events were only marginally different, it would have had an Iberian debacle. Because: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's potential victory seemed to say goodbye almost without a greeting with the strong gusts of wind in Monte Carlo when Novak Djokovic turned a 2: 4 deficit in the second set and - as we now know: unsuccessfully - served to equalize the set. Real Madrid were 3-0 down against Chelsea until the 80th minute. And the fact that FC Bayern did not score a second goal against Villareal, but instead conceded one themselves, required several unforced errors on the part of the German record champions.
skymontecarlo2022
At this point, nothing should take away from the shine of Davidovich Fokina's coup, the Spaniard took advantage of the unexpected opportunity and put up a great fight. Documented by a t-shirt that was pretty dirty after several dives and a few abrasions on his hands and knees. And the neutral spectator must have kept his fingers crossed for the outsider, as you do across all disciplines. But: It took a lot of friendly help from the industry leader with a combination of impatience and sometimes grotesque mistakes for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to become the surprise winner of the day.
Tournaments without Djokovic and Nadal poorer
For the Monte Carlo tournament, however, Djokovic's second abrupt exit in a row (last year he lost early to Daniel Evans) is bad. After all, Djokovic's return to the tour had been anticipated with great excitement. One would have liked to have seen the number one in the world against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, in a position determination for both. Alcaraz is now taking part in the tournament today, while Djokovic can already prepare for his home tournament next week in Belgrade.
Only the upcoming major events in Madrid and Rome will show how much one can interpret into the defeat against Davidovich Fokina. Where the great rival Rafael Nadal wants to be at the start again. But there are also many questions about the second major current figure in tennis, and Nadal canceled his start in Barcelona. In any case, it applies to Djokovic as well as to Nadal: without the two, every major tennis tournament is poorer.
Here the individual tableau in Monte Carlo
montemap