What has happened to Novak Djokovic three times in 2025 which he only ever experienced once in five years before

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Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players to have ever played the sport, and he’s still striving for a 25th Grand Slam title.

The Serbian player has shown since the start of last year, however, that he’s no longer the immovable object that he once was in the sport of tennis.

Last year, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared the Grand Slam titles between them, with Djokovic being forced to accept an Olympic gold medal as his big win of 2024.

So far in 2025, the seven-time Wimbledon champion has struggled with fitness and was forced to retire from his semi-final at the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev.

Yesterday, he was sent packing by Alejandro Talibo in Monte Carlo to leave more questions than answers for Djokovic ahead of the rest of the clay-court season.

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Novak Djokovic has done something three times in 2025 that he’d only done once in previous five years

It’s quite unnerving to see Djokovic keep losing in first-round matches given that he’s been so excellent at coming through them in the past.

Djokovic was beaten by Tabilo in Monte Carlo to make it a third first-round defeat in 2025 and that just isn’t like the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

People have become so accustomed to Djokovic getting past the first round that in the five years before 2025, he’d only lost once in a first-round match.

That also came in Monte Carlo when he was beaten by Spanish player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after receiving a bye from the first round.

Monte Carlo doesn’t appear to be a positive tournament for Djokovic and in 2016, he was also beaten in the second round – following a bye in the first – by Jiri Vesely in a very abject match.

Now, he’s lost at the first hurdle three times already this year and certainly the aura of invincibility appears to be slipping somewhat from Djokovic.

Positive omen for Novak Djokovic ahead of French Open

All might not be lost for Djokovic ahead of the French Open which gets underway next month in Paris.

Djokovic won the Roland Garros top prize in 2016, 2021 and 2023 and all three of those titles came when he’d not played particularly well in Monte Carlo.

The second round defeat in 2016 came, as stated, against Davidovich-Fokina and he was dumped out in the round of 16 in 2021 and 2023.

The first tournament on clay is always tough for some players to adjust too and perhaps Djokovic is merely timing his run of form to perfection once again.

However, with Alcaraz seeming formidable on clay in recent years, perhaps the Serbian won’t find things quite so straightforward after his latest first-round disappointment.