‘Not a great season’ – Djokovic reacts to Monte Carlo loss, as Ruud says 'he's human'

It is an unusual position for the Serbian great to find himself in, such is the “high standard” he sets for himself – with Ruud managing to beat Djokovic for the first time in six attempts.

Djokovic lost to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup – his chosen Australian Open warm-up event – and to Jannik Sinner in Melbourne, before being beaten by Luca Nardi in Indian Wells. Add in the defeat to Ruud, and it is clear this season is not shaping up how Djokovic might have hoped.

Mitigating circumstances do exist – this was Djokovic’s first tournament of the year on clay, while Ruud has already played in Estoril and thus was perhaps better prepared for the conditions in Monaco. Those conditions varied hugely too, with rain and unseasonably cooler weather for the players to contend with over the first few days, before the sun came out and conditions quickened.

“I’m used to really high standard in terms of expectations of the results, so not having a title is, maybe comparing to the last 15 years, not a great season at all,” Djokovic said.

“But I had semis of Australia, semis here. I only played three tournaments this year, so of course, you know, it’s normal to expect that you have some seasons where you don’t start well, and this is the one.

“Hopefully, yeah, I can pick up, in terms of results, I can build from here, because, you know, I played some good tennis. Hopefully in the next tournaments I’ll be able to play even better.”

This is not Djokovic’s worst start to a season – far from it. In 2018 he did not win a title until Wimbledon and did not make a single final on the hard or clay courts in the opening part of the season.

But given how much is expected of the 24-time major winner, his lacklustre start to the campaign has been noted by many, not least the way he lost in Monte Carlo – with a double fault on match point.

“Of course, I’m disappointed, you know, to lose a match like this,” Djokovic said of his semi-final defeat.

“I had my chances, but yeah, last game was not great. Unforced errors and just he was solid I think until the last shot and deserved to win. My game was kind of up and down.

“I mean, the positive thing is that I kind of managed to come back after losing the first set and really find the strength in the game. So, there are positives to take away from this tournament, for sure, but of course disappointed with the loss.”

As for Ruud, he is a proven performer on the dirt courts so to see him make his first final in Monaco is not unexpected, but it did surprise a few given his prior record against Djokovic.

“Obviously Novak is Novak,” Ruud said. “He’s human. Sometimes he doesn’t seem like it, but he is like everyone else.

“I think what really motivated me and helped me a bit today was maybe that I thought about, you know, he lost a match in Indian Wells to Luca Nardi, and he showed there that he’s also vulnerable sometimes. Not many times in a year, but a few days here and there he’s possible to beat.

“If you see that someone has done really well in the beginning of the year, it’s tough to play them, because you’re expecting, wow, this guy is almost impossible to beat. But if you see that many or other players have beaten him before, you believe a bit more in yourself also.”

With the rise of Sinner, the hype surrounding Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune playing exciting tennis and Grigor Dimitrov rolling back the years, there is plenty of talent on show on the men’s tour at the moment, but Ruud maintains Djokovic sets the standard.

Ruud said: “In my eyes, [Djokovic is] of the all-time players to try to beat. Today I was able to do it. Something I can remember for the rest of my life and tell hopefully my kids in the future and my grandkids when I’m getting old that, you know, I beat Novak one time at least.

“No one knows how long he plans to play for, but obviously he’s getting older, but he’s still physically in good shape and playing fantastic tennis. But it’s always fun to play against him, because, you know, it’s one of the toughest challenges in our sport.”