Novak Djokovic has divulged that he was having “big personal problems” at the time of his surprise defeat to Lorenzo Musetti at the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters.
The tennis legend explained that he becomes “very frustrated” in circumstances where personal issues are affecting him and said “what awaited me outside of a tennis court mattered more that day.”
At the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo in April last year, Djokovic – who was the No 1 seed – fell to a 6-4, 5-7, 4-6 loss to the 16th-seeded Musetti in the third round of the clay-court event.
The Serbian was also dealing with an elbow issue during the early part of last year’s clay-court season and was playing his first event since the Dubai Championships over a month prior. He had missed the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami in March due to US vaccine entry requirements.
Having not made it past the quarter-finals in his three clay-court events prior to the French Open in 2023, Djokovic went on to claim his third Roland Garros title and 23rd Grand Slam crown.
The 36-year-old is a two-time champion at the Monte Carlo Masters, having won the tournament in 2013 and 2015, but he has not made it beyond the last eight in his seven appearances since his last triumph.
“I didn’t talk about it at the time but, at that time, I was having big personal problems. It is in these circumstances that I become very frustrated,” the 36-year-old said.
“Obviously, I don’t want to show it too much, I try to remain as professional as possible but I remain human, with emotions… And I wasn’t happy to lose a match. But what awaited me outside of a tennis court mattered more that day.”
In a short press conference following the defeat to Musetti, Djokovic had said: “I cannot say nothing, I’m okay. I’m fine. Congrats to him. We move on. It’s not a great day for me, so I’m not really in the mood to speak.”
The world No 1 is the favourite to win the ongoing 2024 Australian Open, where he is the defending champion and a record 10-time winner.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion overcame impressive 18-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic in a gruelling four-set opening round match which lasted four hours. Djokovic will face world No 43 Alexei Popyrin in the second round in Melbourne on Wednesday.
