Novak Djokovic very concerned after what he felt during his Rome Open defeat to Alejandro Tabilo

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Novak Djokovic’s torrid run of form continued yesterday, as he was well beaten 2-6, 3-6, by Alejandro Tabilo.

The Chilean was coming into this Masters 1000 tournament having just won a Challengers event the week prior, and aside from winning in Brisbane as well as reaching the final in his home country, every other tournament had seen him exit in the first or second round.

Few expected him to even trouble Djokovic, let alone dispatch him with the ease that he did.

Now, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has sought to try and make sense of the result

Novak Djokovic explains poor Rome Open performance

Speaking after his shock exit just yesterday, focus naturally shifted to Friday’s flashpoint, as a metal bottle seemed to fly from the crowd and strike him on the head.

Leaving him in a heap, he picked himself up and scampered away from the court.

Few expected it to have too dramatic an effect, but when asked if it had played a part in his comfortable defeat, he told Sky Sports: ‘I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it’s okay. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it’s not.

‘The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It’s a bit concerning.

‘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. Completely different player from two nights ago.

‘I don’t know. I have to do medical check-ups and see what’s going on.’

Novak Djokovic’s shocking barren run continues

After the season he had just enjoyed in 2023, few would have expected Djokovic’s fall to be so dramatic, and so sudden.

The Serbian had been just one win away from winning all four Grand Slams in one year as well as the ATP Finals too, with Carlos Alcaraz’s stunning effort at Wimbledon denying him.

The 36-year-old just continues to defy expectations, but this year he tried to mitigate them by explaining his reduced schedule.

Seeking to prioritise certain tournaments and aiming to peak when they came around, he has missed plenty of big events in an effort to squeeze as much as possible out of the rest of his career.

But given he has yet to taste silverware and we are in May is astonishing, and in 2024 has actually won just 12 and lost five (70.6%), a significant downturn from the 83.4% win ratio he has maintained throughout his illustrious career.

Goran Ivanisevic, his former coach, had recently suggested there were just two players on tour who were ‘five steps ahead’ of Djokovic. That number may now have increased.

Nobody would have expected such a barren run, and with Roland Garros just around the corner, this is arguably the most up-for-grabs Grand Slam in recent memory.

Not only is Djokovic’s powers waning but Rafael Nadal is far from his best, whilst Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev are all nursing injuries.

This truly is anyone’s tournament.