Alejandro Tabilo Stuns Novak Djokovic At The Rome Open

Number 29 seed Alejandro Tabilo achieved the first top-10 win in his career, dispatching world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 at round 3 of the Rome Masters in just 68 minutes. The GOAT had no way around the laser-focused lefty, as the Chilean was just hitting too well for Djokovic to be able to find his footing in the match.

The start was ominous for Djokovic as he was broken immediately in the first game, and he did not manage to hold serve again in the third game, giving Tabilo the two-break lead. Tabilo took advantage of the lead, played confidently and served out the set. The second started in a similar fashion as the first, with Djokovic unable to hold, offering a break to start the set. Then, both players held serve in the subsequent games until Djokovic served to stay in the match at 3-5, where he ultimately was unable to keep himself together and lost the match with a double fault. 

All credit to Alejandro Tabilo who overcame the pressure of playing the six-time champion at the event. He overpowered the top seed in all aspects of the game in the match, hitting blistering forehand winners with a shot quality of 9.2 on the left wing, combined with great serve and deft touches, putting pressure on Djokovic at all times during the match, and leaving no room for him to break back. The Chilean played so well that he did not face a breakpoint en-route to the win. 

The already rather open Rome Open's draw on the men’s side due to the withdrawal of injury-plagued top players became even more so now that former champions and favourites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been eliminated. Big chances for a new champion to emerge at the Masters event unless Daniil Medvedev defies all odds to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career!