"Novak Djokovic needs to rethink about retirement" - Fans concerned for Serb after shocking Monte-Carlo exit to start clay season
Novak Djokovic had a disastrous start to his clay-court season as he suffered a shock second-round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters. The Serb faced Alejandro Tabilo, who beat him 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic entered the Monte Carlo Masters after losing the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik and received a bye to the second round of the tournament. Here, he faced Alejandro Tabilo, who had won just two out of 11 main-draw matches in 2025 before competing in Monte-Carlo. The Chilean put in a fine performance to beat the Serb 6-3, 6-4, and maintain his 100% record over him.
Many fans reacted to Djokovic's shock exit at the Monte Carlo Masters, with one saying that he needed to contemplate retiring from tennis.
"Novak needs to rethink about retirement," the fan said.
One fan said that the Serb's defeat was not surprising considering his performances in Monte-Carlo since 2015.
"Not even surprised tbh. Novak hasn't played well here since he won the title a decade ago," the fan said.
One fan called the 37-year-old "finished", stating:
"Novak is finished."
Here are some more fan reactions to the Serb's early exit from the Monte-Carlo Masters:
"This is crazy. He (Tabilo) had won, what? 3 matches this year?" one fan said.
"They said Djokovic was back," another stated.
"This is sad to see but Novak isn't 100%. Novak needs to rest take care of himself. Hopefully the eye infection will heal soon," one fan commented.
The Monte-Carlo Masters marks the third tournament in 2025 where Novak Djokovic has suffered defeat in his opening match, having previously endured the same fate at the Qatar Open and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He now has 12 wins out of 18 matches so far this season.
Novak Djokovic has an 11-9 win-loss at Monte-Carlo since his title triumph in 2015
The Serb won his second and to date, last title in Monte-Carlo in 2015 but his performances at the tournament since then have not been particularly, having won just 11 out of 20 matches in the editions that followed.
His best performance at the Masters 1000 event since 2015 was reaching the semifinals in 2024 when he lost to Casper Ruud. The Serb also made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2018 and 2019. Apart from 2025, he suffered second-round exits in 2016 and 2022 as well.
Following his disappointing exit in Monte-Carlo, the Serb is next scheduled to compete at the Madrid Open, where he suffered a third-round exit in 2024, and the player to beat him was none other than Alejandro Tabilo.