Novak Djokovic loses first match of 2021: ‘I just felt awful on the court’

Tennis

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For the first time in 2021, Novak Djokovic has lost. Dan Evans defeated the top-ranked tennis player 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Djokovic, who is coming off a title at the Australian Open, was understandably self-critical about his performance against the unseeded British player.

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

“Should have and could have done much, much better. I can’t take anything positive away from this match.”

Djokovic dropped his serve five times in the match that he began with a 3-0 deficit in the first set. 

Evans, meanwhile, was oddly calm about what can only be described as the best win of his career.

“It probably hasn’t sunk in yet, I couldn’t quite believe that last ball went over the net. It nearly didn’t,” he said. “It’s clearly a big win. That’s the biggest thing, you’ve got to believe you can win. Serving it out isn’t easy, you’ve got all these things going through your head.”

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