Paul Annacone, a former coach of Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, has offered his perspective on Novak Djokovic after the Serbian’s surprise early Monte Carlo exit.
Djokovic struggled badly in a 3-6, 4-6 loss against 32nd-ranked Alejandro Tabilo in the second round of the 2025 Monte Carlo Masters.
It was the tennis great’s third defeat in his opening match at a tournament in 2025 after losses to Matteo Berrettini in Doha and Botic van de Zandschulp in Indian Wells.
The legendary Serb, who was a runner-up at the Miami Open at the end of March, now holds a 12-6 record this season.
Djokovic’s second appearance of the clay season will come at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, which will begin on April 22.
Annacone, who reached a career-high ranking of world No 12 in his playing days, explained why he was not concerned by Djokovic’s Monte Carlo defeat.
“Look, I think the hardest thing is, when you win as much as these all time greats win, you tend to only make news when you lose,” the American told Tennis Channel.
“And Novak now, because he’s not playing that much, he is losing what seems to be an inordinate amount of times.
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“But guess what, the most important thing for players at this stage, in this level, is to periodise, ‘How am I gonna get ready for Roland Garros? How am I gonna get ready for Wimbledon?’
“And guess what, he’s gonna have some of these losses, but because he knows how good he is, he’s not going to panic, his confidence isn’t going to crash, it’s about staying healthy and trying to peak at the right moment.
“So I’ve always believed that you never really want to bet against greats, particularly all time greats in the biggest moments.
“He’s not gonna probably win three and four majors over a couple year span all the time now, but he’s not going to be in every single major. But when the guy wants to play, I’m not betting against him in a big tournament yet.”
Andy Roddick pointed out that the conditions in Monte Carlo made life difficult for Djokovic.
“You know what else is kryptonite for someone who’s 38? Cold, slow and balls that are unresponsive,” the former world No 1 explained.
“We keep referencing him winning on clay in the Olympics last year — it was 90 degrees during parts of the Olympics last year. The ball was jumping, he got a little help. He got no help today in these conditions.”
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