The absence of Novak Djokovic in the most prestigious tournaments of the tour was felt. The world no.1 is finally back on the pitch and this week is taking part in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2022, the first competition for the best tennis players in the world on clay after the hard court season.
The Serbian suffered in the first round of the event against the Spaniard Davidovich Fokina, who is always a tough player to face, but he did not spare the spectacle to the public in the stands: in the tie-break of the second set, ahead 6-5, the native of Belgrade has invented a splendid magic, finding a passing straight line that left the Iberian speechless. It was not enough for the Serbian world no.1 to win the match: the sensational defeat has arrived.
Fabio Fognini, 2019 edition champion, fresh from the very tiring success against Arthur Rinderknech, leaves room for defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In a decidedly tense game, with the well-known antipathy between the two, the Greek talent manages to repel Fognini’s attempts in the heart of the first set and above all to spread into the second. The 6-3 6-0 that he matures on the threshold of ninety minutes of play is practically a logical consequence that even leaves little room for interpretation.
There were also successes for David Goffin, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov. Below the day-3 highlights.