World number one Novak Djokovic said he felt “awful” on court during the straight sets defeat against Britain’s Dan Evans at the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday and the performance was one of his worst in many years.
Djokovic went into his first meeting against the 33rd-ranked Evans with a 10-0 record in 2021 but exited the ATP Masters 1000 event after an error-prone show in chilly and blustery conditions.
The Serbian congratulated Evans, who came to Monte Carlo having won just four matches on clay, for a “deserved” 6-4 7-5 victory.
“To be honest, this has been probably one of the worst matches and performances from my side I can recall in the last years,” Djokovic told reporters.
“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.
“From my side, I definitely should have done better. As I said, definitely that’s been one of the worst performances I can remember in many years.”
Djokovic said he was exiting with a “bitter” feeling but hoped he can turn things around as he heads home to play the Serbia Open next week.
“Just was obviously very, very windy, tough to play in these kind of conditions against a guy like Evans who makes you move,” he added. “He’s very unpredictable with his shots. He dismantled my game. I was just not feeling it, and playing pretty bad.
“Obviously right now, as I walk off the court, I’m disappointed with the way I played, the way I felt on the court. But it’s a long clay season. Still plenty of tournaments, plenty of room to improve.
“Obviously I have to work, hopefully get a better performance next week in Belgrade.”
