“He Dismantled My Game”: Novak Djokovic on His Shocking Loss to Dan Evans at Monte-Carlo Masters 2021

Novak Djokovic did not hold back after suffering an embarrassing loss at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday, labelling it as one of his “worst performances”.

However, that’s not to take credit away from British No.1 Dan Evans, who produced scintillating tennis to down the reigning Australian Open champion 6-4, 7-5.

Novak Djokovic says the loss to Dan Evans was one of the worst matches he has ever played

Speaking to reporters after the fourth-round defeat, Djokovic said he couldn’t recall playing any worse than what he did on Thursday.

“This has been probably one of the worst matches and performances from my side (that) I can recall in the last (few) years,” the World No.1 said.

He added that though he would take nothing away from the way his opponent played, he felt strangely off on court and couldn’t produce his best.

“I don’t want to take anything away from his win, but from my side, I just felt awful on the court overall. Just nothing worked. It’s one of those days,” Djokovic said.

Contrasting his performance on Thursday to his clinical win over rising Italian and Miami Open runners-up Jannik Sinner, he said, “Today was completely the opposite of what I felt yesterday”.

Novak Djokovic the windy outdoor conditi0ns also contributed to his Monte-Carlo

Djokovic added that the windy outdoor conditions might also have had something to do with his defeat.

“Tough to play in these kinds of conditions against a guy like Evans who makes you move. He’s very unpredictable with his shots. He dismantled my game,” said the Serb, in a frank critique of his performance.

The match statistics does bear a tell-tale story of where things might have gone horribly wrong for the World No.1 on a blustery Monte-Carlo day.

His first-serve percentage was down to 57%, with his opponent faring marginally better at 63%.

Tellingly, the Serb could convert only 3 of his 10 breakpoint opportunities, a poor return by his standards, while the Englishman cashed in on 5 of the 7 that he created.

Read More: “Seems More Mature For His Age”: Novak Djokovic Reveals What Impresses Him the Most About Jannik Sinner

Also, as Djokovic himself pointed out, Evans did a dashed good job of running him around the turf and catching him on the wrong foot on numerous occasions.