ArrayMonte Carlo, April 14 (IANS) Czech Jiri Vesely surprised Serbian World No.1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo tennis Masters.
The 5th-ranked Vesely took 125 minutes to defeat the defending champion on clay court here on Wednesday, which still remains a weakness for Djokovic, reports Tass.
It is only Djokovic’s second loss of the season and his earliest defeat on the tennis tour in three years, since losing in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open against Grigor Dimitrov.
Vesely goes on to face Paolo Lorenzi or Gael Monfils.
Djokovic’s loss left him disappointed, but the Serbian also had to nod to Czech Jiri Vesely, who earned the biggest win of his career by knocking off the two-time Monte-Carlo champion.
“He played very solid. He was serving very big. He was playing tactically good and aggressive,” Djokovic said after the match.
“When he was a break up in the third set, he was playing bravely. He was coming in, (hitting) drop shots, big serves. He was going for it. He deserved to have it.”
“I have to congratulate the better player today on the court and just move on from there,” Djokovic added.
“It is what it is. Sometimes you don’t play your best and you lose.”
Bopanna-Mergea move on in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo, April 14 (IANS) Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea downed Robert Lindstedt and Alexander Peya 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles event at the Monte-Carlo Rolex tennis Masters.
The sixth seeds broke serve four times (4/16) and fired four aces in the 87-minute win here on Wednesday. They will next face fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.
John Peers and Henri Kontinen cruised 6-3, 6-2 against Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, securing a spot in the second round in 51 minutes. The unseeded duo saved both break points faced and are looking for a second team title after winning their debut event in Brisbane in January.
“Today’s match was very good,” Peers was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com after the match.
“Henri and I have been putting in a lot of hard work so it’s nice to have it pay off. We have been close in so many matches lately and it’s not gone our way, so it’s very rewarding that this one did. It’s really nice being back on the clay and in the sunshine.”
Seventh seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nenad Zimonjic were eliminated by Brits Dominic Inglot and Andy Murray 2-6, 6-3, 10-5 on Wednesday.
The eighth-seeded Polish team formed by Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski was knocked out by Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi.
