- Mubadala Citi DC Open Men’s and Women’s Tennis Draws and Order Of Play for Saturday, July 27, 2024
- Paris Olympic Tennis Draws and Order Of Play for Saturday, July 27, 2024
- Kitzbuhel Generali Open Draws and Order of Play for Friday, July 26, 2024
- Paris Olympic Tennis Singles and Doubles Draws
- Croatia Open Umag Draws and Schedule for Friday, July 26, 2024
- Atlanta Open Draws and Order of Play for Thursday, July 25, 2024
- Croatia Open Umag Draws and Schedule for Thursday, July 25, 2024
- Laver Cup Tennis 2024 Is in Berlin September 20-22 • Almost all the top men’s players will be playing
- Coco Gauff Named Team USA Flag Bearer for Olympic Games
- Kitzbuhel Generali Open Draws and Order of Play for Wednesday, July 24, 2024
- Croatia Open Umag Draws and Schedule for Wednesday, July 24, 2024
- Atlanta Open Draws and Order of Play for Tuesday, July 23, 2024
- Fils upsets Zverev for Hamburg title, Borges beats Nadal in Bastad
- Kitzbuhel Generali Open Draws and Order of Play for Tuesday, July 23, 2024
- Croatia Open Umag Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Tabilo Stuns World No. 1 Djokovic in Rome Upset
- Updated: May 12, 2024
![](https://i1.wp.com/www.10sballs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/novak-djokovic-roma-wave-05122024.png?w=615&ssl=1)
The Eternal City posed persistent pain for Novak Djokovic.
Beaned by a fan’s water bottle after his opening win, world No. 1 Djokovic was booted out of Rome in shocking fashion today.
World No. 32 Alejandro Tabilo stunned Djokovic 6-2, 6-3 in one of the most surprising setbacks of Djokovic’s Rome career.
“It’s incredible,” Tabilo said after the victory, his first against any player inside the Top 10, let alone a World No.1 with 24 major titles to his name. “I’m still trying to process everything.
“I was just trying to keep my nerves in – it’s crazy, I can’t believe what just happened.”
With his win Tabilo becomes the first man from Chile to defeat a World No.1 since 2007, when Fernando Gonzalez defeated Roger Federer at the season ending Masters Cup.
An erratic Djokovic double faulted away opening breaks in the first and second set then dumped his fifth double fault to end a wild and weird 67-minute upset that left some fans whistling.
“Congratulations to my opponent,” Djokovic told the media in Rome. “It’s the first time I faced him. Great player. Really quality player. All-around game.
“Yeah, I just wasn’t able to find any kind of good feelings on the court, to be honest, with striking the ball. Yeah, I was completely off.”
Rome is stunned 😳
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 12, 2024
Alejandro Tabilo claims the biggest win of his career so far, defeating number 1 seed Djokovic 6-2 6-3 in 67 minutes at the @InteBNLdItalia #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/ptutzb1LTj
Grand Slam king Djokovic has played pristine tennis at times seizing six Rome championships, the tournament frequently serving as a springboard to a brilliant summer.
Today, he was far from his best.
Djokovic repeatedly resorted to the drop shot from obscure areas of the court, double-faulted himself into oblivion and had no answers for the crackling Tabilo forehand.
You wonder if the water bottle off the head damaged Djokovic as this was such an uncharacteristically sloppy performance in a subpar season that has seen his team dissolve and his resolve tested by opponents who seem to have no fear of the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
The reigning Roland Garros champion said he felt out of sorts and will have his head checked.
“I have to check that,” Djokovic said when asked if there was lingering damage from the bottle blow. “Training was different. I was going for kind of easy training yesterday.
“I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same. Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination.
“[I was a] completely different player from what it was two nights ago. Could be. I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on.”
Yes, Djokovic was a shell of himself today—remember this seismic upset comes a day after Hubert Hurkacz hammered king of clay Rafael Nadal in straight sets—but credit Tabilo for recognizing the world No. 1 was reeling and vulnerable and knocking him out.