It took Alejandro Tabilo just 67 minutes to achieve what other tennis players have unsuccessfully tried to do on countless occasions – beat Novak Djokovic.
The Chilean defeated the world No. 1 and top seed 6-2 6-3 in the third round of the Italian Open on Sunday in what was the first meeting between the pair.
“It’s incredible. I came on court just looking around and soaking it all in, trying to process everything. I’m trying to wake up right now,” said Tabilo, 26, per the ATP.
Djokovic, a six-time champion in Rome, was broken four times by the world No. 32 and has yet to win a title this year. His five double faults were particularly costly.
“I was just trying to keep my nerves in, trying to keep swinging,” added Tabilo.
“Obviously every time you feel like you are closer to the end, your arms start to get a little tighter and you start to swing shorter, so I was just trying to not think about it and take it point by point. It’s crazy, I can’t believe what just happened.”
After losing the first set, Djokovic served up two double faults in the opening game of the second set to gift his opponent a crucial advantage.
It was another Djokovic double fault which gave Tabilo his fourth break of the match to secure an incredible victory.
Djokovic was accidentally hit on the head with a water bottle following his second-round win on Friday.
He told reporters he “didn’t know” if that incident had impacted his performance.
“Training was different,” he said, according to the ATP. “I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.
“Today (Sunday) 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 what it was two nights ago. Could be. I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on.”
