Dominated by Tabilo, Djokovic makes no secret of the fact: "I was completely out of my depth".

Djokovic was unrecognizable from the start of the third round in Rome. Faced with a confident Alejandro Tabilo, the Serb was unable to react. In fact, the world number 1 seemed curiously absent, rarely encouraging himself.

Such a performance, from the tennis player with the greatest record in the history of our sport, is perplexing. When asked about his performance today, Djokovic made no excuses. First of all, congratulations to my opponent. This is the first time I've played him. He's a top quality player, with a complete game. I just couldn't get the right feel for the court and my shots. I was completely off my game. [...] What I felt on court today was as if another player had stepped into my shoes. No rhythm, no tempo, no balance on the ball. It's a bit worrying."

Asked about the major upcoming events (Roland Garros and the Olympic Games), the Serbian was, as usual, very hard on himself: "Everything has to be improved for me to at least have a chance of winning."