Djokovic made it no secret that he didn’t have high expectations at this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters. The Serb had a quick turnaround after losing in the final of the Miami Open, playing his first match on the clay just 10 days later.
But the two-time former champion in Monaco looked a shell of his usual self when he came out to face Tabilo on Wednesday, struggling to get fired up as the Chilean handed him a 6-3 6-4 defeat.
Afterwards, Djokovic said it was a “horrible feeling to play this way”.
He added: “I knew I’m gonna have a tough opponent and I knew I’m gonna probably play pretty bad. But this bad, I didn’t expect.”
But retired French tennis star Clement wasn’t happy with what he heard and saw from Djokovic, and he believes something could be going on.
“The shock, ultimately, is more the manner and the attitude than the loss itself,” he told Eurosport France.
“It’s true that we didn’t feel he was happy on the court, we didn’t feel he was fulfilled. Did he want to? We don’t know. Did he have a problem? We don’t know. But there was certainly something wrong with Novak Djokovic today.
“And it wasn’t simply the fact that his tennis wasn’t in place. He didn’t give the impression, as can often be the case with him when things aren’t going well, of finding solutions and resources.”
Djokovic has already shut down concerns that he was battling an injury in the match against Tabilo. The world No. 5 has been struggling with an eye infection over the last couple of weeks.
He raised more concerns ahead of Wednesday’s match when he was spotted grabbing his arm during a practice session, with a member of his team coming over to massage it.
But, after crashing out of the tournament, Djokovic said: “It’s all good. Just a minor, minor thing. There’s no injury.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion still has his sights set on the French Open, admitting it was his only target during the clay swing. Djokovic is expected to return to action in Madrid at the end of the month.