Novak Djokovic lost to Alejandro Tabilo at the 2024 Italian Open, and all he could do after the match was congratulate his opponent.
The Serbian's shaky season continued at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, as he was once again beaten relatively early. He came to the Italian capital with the goal of getting a couple of more matches in ahead of Roland Garros, where, per tradition, he hopes to improve his level.
He ultimately played only two matches because he was beaten in the second match he played in Rome. Losing in itself is not a huge deal because he certainly won't lose sleep over missing out on this trophy, but the way he lost should concern both Djokovic fans and himself.
He really wasn't all that competitive against a player who likely won't challenge for big trophies anytime soon. Tabilo played wonderful tennis, but Djokovic played far below his level.
His serve was nowhere to be found, his body language didn't look all that great, and after the match, he admitted that a much better opponent completely outplayed him.
"Congratulations to my opponent. 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."
This loss leaves Djokovic in a weird position. On the one hand, he's only played a handful of events, none of which matter a lot in the grand scheme of things, but on the other hand, he wasn't really good at any of them.
Yes, he's Djokovic and can flip a switch at any time, but can he? It doesn't seem like the magic works as well as it used to, but he'll face the ultimate test in Paris.