Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had won just seven games across two previous meetings with Novak Djokovic coming into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but the World No. 46 banished those demons in style on Tuesday with a stunning upset on the Monaco clay.

The Spaniard struck the ball with power and accuracy throughout the second-round clash, recovering from the disappointment of losing a tight second-set tie-break to clinch a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“This win is so special for me because I grew up watching Nole and I’m a big fan of his,” said Davidovich Fokina in his on-court interview. “I look at him every tournament, every match. Here in Monte Carlo, full of people, against the No. 1, I enjoyed every moment and I’m so happy.”

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It was Djokovic’s first match since his quarter-final defeat to Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February and the top seed was given little room to find his feet by his tenacious opponent at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

The World No. 1 may have enjoyed comfortable wins over the Spaniard at the 2021 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Tokyo Olympics, but Davidovich Fokina reached the quarter-finals on debut in Monte Carlo in 2021 and is renowned as one of the toughest competitors on Tour.

Any illusions of a third consecutive landslide victory for Djokovic over the Spaniard were shattered early on Court Rainier III as Davidovich Fokina broke three times on his way to the first set, with an out-of-sorts Djokovic offering up 16 unforced errors in the frame.

A topsy-turvy second set featured six breaks of serve, and although Djokovic failed to serve it out at 5-4, the Serb produced a stunning forehand pass to clinch the tie-break.

Daviodovich Fokina was not to be denied, however. The Spaniard continued to successfully pressure the Djokovic serve and he broke three times in the deciding set to complete the biggest win of his career in two hours and 54 minutes.

“I started [well] from the beginning because I knew that Nole [hasn’t played] a lot,” said Davidovich Fokina. “Then I had to focus on every point because I had my chances from the beginning and I just did it.

“When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I am working so hard to be more focussed. It doesn’t matter if I lost the second set or I lost the first set. I have to be prepared for the war.”

The Spaniard’s return game proved crucial to his victory. According to Infosys ATP Stats, he won 45 per cent (34/76) of points against Djokovic’s first serve, numbers that enabled him to break the Serb nine times in the match.

The defeat marks the first time Djokovic has lost his opening match at a tournament since falling to Marin Klizan in Barcelona in 2018.

Davidovich Fokina can equal his 2021 Monte Carlo quarter-final run with a win in his third-round clash with World No. 27 Daniel Evans or wild card David Goffin.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is one of Spain’s brightest young talents on the ATP Tour. The 22-year-old, who competed in the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, has already climbed as high as No. 32 in the ATP Rankings.

ATP Tour.com caught up with Davidovich Fokina, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, to chat about his life on Tour, the time a friend flew tennis shoes across the world for him, how he deals with jetlag — hint, there is a lot of coffee involved — and more.

Watch Next Stop: Vlogging Down Under

When you pack for a trip, outside of tennis gear, what are things you always have to bring with you?
My headphones because I love to hear music in the plane or at the airport. Most of the time I forget things, then they have to bring them to me after, like at the US Open [lat year] I forgot my t-shirt. In Australia [three years ago], I forgot my shoes. So… my headphones and my clothes!

What happened in Australia? How did you get the shoes?
A friend of ours came to Australia with like five pairs of shoes. We called him, and he came the day after, but he enjoyed it. He enjoyed Australia!

Have you ever travelled to a tournament because you wanted to see the city, or you just pick because of the tennis?
Because of tennis. The calendar that we have, it’s so simple and we have to pick which one is better for us and for me to play, and that’s it.

What’s your favourite city to visit for a tournament?
I love Brisbane in Australia. I love it. When I went there was like an artificial beach in the middle of the city and I loved that.

Where’s your favourite place to go on vacation?
I want to go to Mexico, I’ve never been there. They told me that it’s a very good [place]. I went last year or two years ago to Punta Cana, and the beach and parties and everything there were so good.

As a player you have a lot of long flights. Is there anything you do to take care of your body, maybe after the flight or during the flight?
Most of the tournaments we bring a physio, and he takes care of me before the match, after the match, and of course the physios from the tournament are very good, too. I take of myself every day.

How do you get comfortable on the plane?
We started travelling when I was 10, 11 years old, so for me being in the airport is like my second home. In the plane if I put my headphones in and listen to music or watch series, most of the time that’s it. It’s like a routine.

You get to the airport early or just on time?
Depends on my coach, and when he picks me up!

So it doesn’t matter to you?
No, I want to be two hours early at the airport to make sure I can make it.

You’ve never missed a flight?
No, never.

How do you deal with jetlag?
When we went to Indian Wells, and we came back after only one week there, it was too tough. It was like nine hours’ time difference and when we came back to Spain, I was dead. I needed four or five days to be in rhythm again in Spain.

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}
How do you try to get rid of the jetlag? Just stay up and not sleep?
For example, when I came back from Indian Wells, I drank five coffees because I wanted to stay up and not sleep in the day. I went with my friends outside to have a coffee and talk, because if I stayed at home I was going to sleep for sure.

A lot of players have crazy travel stories. Do you have any?
No, fortunately we have had luck. I’ve never had any troubles.

When you’re on the road, how do you make yourself feel at home?
I keep talking with my friends, enjoying every moment with my team, when we are outside and to be more comfortable during the day, because it’s tough when you fly a lot of weeks and you’re away from home. You have to watch series or do things like you are at home when you are in the hotel.

When you sign up for tournaments, do you like trying new tournaments or ones you are used to already?
Depends on if I did well last year or not! For example, I love to play in Estoril because it was my first ATP tournament and I got to the semi-finals and I have good memories there, but I don’t care where I go. I want to play, enjoy every moment and that’s it.

How much fun is it for you getting to travel the world as a professional tennis player?
It’s very fun, I like what I do, I like this sport and I love to travel and enjoy every city where I’ve never been. I’m a little bit hyperactive, I want to do a lot of things when I am out, to go here or go there, so for me it’s a lot of fun.

The air in the south of France brings out the best in Briton Daniel Evans.

The World No. 27 soared to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, upsetting World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Pole Hubert Hurkacz en route.

One year on and Evans once again found the winning formula at the clay-court event, moving past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-0, 7-6(4) on Tuesday to reach the second round.

The 29-year-old won 100 per cent (9/9) of his first-serve points in the opening set as he dictated from the baseline, before he showed his fighting spirit in the second set, rallying from 1-4 to eventually advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

With his victory, Evans has snapped a three-match losing streak and now leads lucky loser Bonzi 1-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. He will next face either top seed Djokovic in a rematch from last season or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

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Evans has recorded some impressive results so far in 2022, earning ATP Cup wins against Canadian Denis Shapovalov and American John Isner and advancing to the semi-finals at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

Bonzi was making his debut at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and arrived high in confidence, having captured the seventh ATP Challenger Tour of his career in Cherbourg earlier this season.

On a dramatic day of doubles action at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the first-time pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray won an extended Match Tie-break to successfully open their account on Monday.

The Indian/British duo scored a 2-6, 6-3, 12-10 victory over Miami finalists Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, completing the comeback on a third match point. After both Bopanna and Murray dropped serve in the opening set, the duo broke both opponents in the second to force the decider. Down 1/5 in the Match Tie-break, they clawed back two mini-breaks as part of a late surge to take the match.

While Bopanna and Murray have competed against each other 12 times on the ATP Tour, including three times in Monte Carlo, this was their first time playing on the same side of the net. Their maiden victory sets up a second-round meeting with Americans Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, who took a 6-3, 7-5 decision over Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.

That was the only Monte Carlo doubles match not decided by a Match Tie-break on Monday. Aslan Karatsev and John Peers saved a match point in the second-set tie-break before notching a 4-6, 7-6(9), 10-8 win over Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and brother Petros Tsitsipas also came from behind to beat Andrey Golubev and Lorenzo Sonego, 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-2, while sixth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah were 7-6(6), 4-6, 10-7 winners against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

The doubles opening round will conclude on Tuesday, with two second-round matches also on the schedule, including fourth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut taking on Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev.

Stan Wawrinka lost his first tour-level match in 13 months on Monday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but he departs the Principality pleased with his progress.

“It was a way better match. I think the body’s getting much better. I’m still far away from where I want to be, but I think I’m [moving in] the right direction,” Wawrinka said after his three-set loss against Alexander Bublik. “I think today was a positive match. It was a tough loss, of course, but I’m happy with the way I was playing today.”

The former World No. 3 took the first set from the shotmaking Kazakhstani and broke serve three times in the match. But as the match wore on, Bublik grew stronger.

It was Wawrinka’s first tour-level appearance since Doha last year. The Swiss competed in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Marbella two weeks ago to begin his comeback from two left foot surgeries, and he is still rounding into form, both in terms of his tennis and his fitness.

“I knew coming here that I’m not physically and tennis-wise ready. I wanted to play a few matches with the Challenger two weeks ago. Now we are practising with the top guys to get my level a bit better,” Wawrinka said. “But I knew and I didn’t expect to play already the way I want to play, so I knew it would be difficult. As I said, I think it was much better than what I was expecting today.

“I was playing better, feeling better on the court of course physically, tennis-wise, and also I spent a lot of mental energy to focus, to stay there as it was tough at the end. But again, I’m happy with what I have done today.”

Watch Highlights: Bublik vs. Wawrinka

Wawrinka is a 16-time tour-level titlist who has won some of the world’s biggest tournaments, including the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in 2014. But the 37-year-old admitted he was not expecting to show up in Monaco and lift the trophy. Pushing Bublik to three sets was a positive for him.

“It’s a lot better than I ever thought I could do today. Of course I’m aware that I’m not ready physically, mentally, [tennis-wise]. I didn’t play a lot of tennis at all before I’m here,” Wawrinka said. “So I am trying to catch up because I had the goal to come back to competition maybe too quickly, but it was important mentally to know I was going to play two tournaments, Marbella, here, to be able to practise with the best players, to play against them, and to find the emotions that I missed so much.”

With this experience under his belt, Wawrinka will now return to training and discuss with his team how they will approach the coming weeks. He does not know the tournament at which he will compete next.

“What I need is to have a programme that allows me when I get to the next tournament to feel that I’m ready,” Wawrinka said. “So I will take the time I need, and when I will be ready, I will play another tournament.”

For now, Wawrinka is pleased to have once again competed on one of the sport’s biggest stages. More than ever, he appreciates these moments.

“I did this rehabilitation during more than a year just to be able to step onto courts like this one, to be in a tournament like this with the crowd, with the atmosphere, the emotions, and the thrill that you can feel with the stress, also,” Wawrinka said. “All this is the reason why I’m playing, and it was very enjoyable today.”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga competed at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters for the final time on Monday after he lost to Croatian Marin Cilic in the first round.

The Frenchman, who recently announced he will be retiring after Roland Garros, was unable to handle Cilic’s aggressive groundstrokes, with the World No. 22 triumphing 6-2, 6-2 after 69 minutes.

With his victory, Cilic now leads Tsonga 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next face Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz or wild card Lucas Catarina. The 33-year-old is a 20-time tour-level champion and has clinched titles on clay in Umag (2012) and Istanbul (2017).

Tsonga has enjoyed success on the courts at the Monte-Carlo Country Club over the years, advancing to the semi-finals in 2013 and 2016. The former World No. 5 has earned standout wins over Roger Federer and 2014 titlist Stan Wawrinka at the clay-court event.

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Hubert Hurkacz started his clay-court season with a hard-fought win, overcoming Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round.

The Pole clinched three tour-level titles in a standout 2021 season, including his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami. The 11th seed is still searching for his first trophy of 2022, though, but he produced a gritty baseline display against Dellien, hammering his groundstrokes and scampering around the court to advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

The World No. 14, who is making his third appearance in Monte-Carlo, will next meet Spaniard Pedro Martinez or Frenchman Ugo Humbert. Hurkacz will be aiming to improve his clay-court results this season, having held a 1-4 record on the surface in 2021.

Roger Federer is working hard on his rehab, the former World No. 1 revealed on Instagram Monday.

“Rehab is rockinggggggg🎸💪🏼,” Federer wrote.

 

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The Swiss’ peers were quick to notice his post, which earned more than 100,000 likes in well under an hour.

“Daiiii Rogeeerrrr… come back sooonnn @rogerfederer 🙌👏,” Fabio Fognini commented.

“Yesss 🔥,” Denis Shapovalov commented.

Federer last competed at Wimbledon last year, where he advanced to the quarter-finals. After that event, the 103-time tour-level titlist underwent right knee surgery. He had already undergone arthroscopic right knee surgeries in February 2020 and May 2020.