By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Jiri Vesely embraces Novak Djokovic after stunning the world No. 1 and defending champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in his Monte-Carlo opener.
Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters/Getty
Neighborhood tennis carries its own peculiar pressure when you're the best in the world and the French Riviera is your backyard.
Novak Djokovic rode his bicycle to work today.
Then he confronted a commuter crisis.
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Cracking drives into the corners, Jiri Vesely made the world No. 1 look like a man sliding around on skates.
The 55th-ranked Vesely displaced the defending champion from his home court scoring a shocking 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 upset to roar into the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters round of 16. The Czech lefty will play 13th-seeded Gael Monfils, who swept Paolo Lorenzi, for a quarterfinal spot.
The former junior No. 1 is the first man to serve out a match against Djokovic this year, snapping the Serbian's 14-match winning streak. An eye infection forced Djokovic to retire from the Dubai quarterfinals against another left-hander, Feliciano Lopez, in his only other defeat.
"I didn't feel that freshness the entire time," Djokovic told the media in Monte Carlo. "Working hard obviously, trying to do my best on a daily basis.
"There were just very few things I could take out from today's match as a positive. I was playing really, really bad."
On the surface, it seemed like a good match-up for Djokovic to ease his way into the clay season after a torrid hard-court tear in Indian Wells and Miami. Djokovic had won nine of his last 10 tournaments and sported a dominant 28-1 record on the season.
Vesely took the court with one career career win in the principality, an ignominious 0-8 record vs. Top 10 opponents and an unimposing 5-8 record on the season.
None of that mattered much to 22-year-old Vesely, who varied the spins and speeds of his serve deviously, banged his forehand with authority, pushed his opponent behind the baseline and exploited Djokovic's stubborn overuse of the drop shot by outclassing the top seed in the front court. Vesely won 16 of 23 net points, including prevailing in several touch exchanges.
It was a tough day for the home side.
Djokovic and 2015 finalist Tomas Berdych, both Monte Carlo residents, were bounced from their hometown tournament within hours of each other. For Djokovic, the early departure may be exactly what he needs: An extended rest before launching his quest to capture his first Roland Garros title and complete the Nole Slam.
"I think the time off will serve me well, mentally mostly," Djokovic said. "It's been a tough four or five months. I need time to kind of recharge."
Riding a streak of 22 consecutive Masters series victories, Djokovic showed signs of mental fatigue, made some misguided shot selections and struggled to find his footing transitioning to red clay after sweeping Indian Wells and Miami hard-court Masters titles in succession.
Credit Vesely for never letting the 28-time Masters champion get too comfortable. He gained triple break point in the ninth game, breaking for 5-4 on a forehand error.
Crunching a backhand into the corner, Vesely earned double set point. A slider serve out wide provoked a floating return long. The 22-year-old Czech became the first man to win a set from Djokovic since 149th-ranked American Bjorn Fratangelo took the first set in the top seed's Indian Wells opener last month.
The 6'6" Vesely neutered the game's most lethal returner in the first set snapping Djokovic's winning streak of 22 straight sets.
Mixing his serving patterns shrewdly, Vesely won 20 of 22 points played on his serve, throwing down three love holds in the 37-minute opener. Vesely won the battle of court positioning along with seven of nine trips to net in the opener.
Pressuring Vesely's serve for the first time in the second set, Djokovic drew to deuce only to see the left-hander lash successive aces to hold.
Struggling to tame his forehand, Djokovic misfired that shot a few times yet worked through a deuce game for a 3-2 second-set edge.
That test seemed to loosen up the champion. Djokovic raced out to a triple break-point lead. He stopped Vesely's run of seven straight holds and seized a 4-2 lead on a scattered backhand.
Beneath his bright orange Lotto headband, Vesely wore the concerned expression of a man realizing his level was waning. Shaking his head between points, he then double faulted to face double set point. He saved the first with an ace but sailed a forehand well beyond the baseline on the second.
Stepping in on second-serve returns, Djokovic won 9 of 11 points played on Vesely's second serve in set two compared to 1 of 10 return points in the opening set.
Shaking off a four-game slide, a recharged Vesely broke to open the third set only to fizzle bouncing a strained smash on his own side of the net and whacking a forehand to gift back the break.
A tearful kid with the Czech flag painted on his cheek buried his face in his hands at the development, but Vesely wasn't down about it. He earned his second straight break on a Djokovic error.
Stubbornly returning to the drop shot, Djokovic not only hurt his comeback cause he infused Vesely with even more confidence in the front court. A soft forehand drop volley helped him back up the break for 3-1.
Thundering his fourth ace out wide that dotted the Rolex crown of the court-side clock, a confident Vesely went up 4-2 after one hour, 45 minutes.
The crowd, which was so pro-Djokovic at the start, was roaring loudly for the underdog by the time the champion stared down a match point. Djokovic fought it off aggressively nudging a high backhand volley just inside the sideline, eventually holding for 4-5.
Serving for the biggest win of his life, Vesely's heart must have been racing, but he showed pure audacity with a delicate backhand drop shot from four feet behind the baseline. He followed the soft shot slashing a serve winner. A big forehand brought a couple more match points.
On the 12th shot, Djokovic went down swinging, missing the mark with a forehand down the line. The world No. 1 showed class and sportsmanship in defeat giving his vanquisher a warm embrace. Vesely, who was two points from elimination in his opening-round win over Teymuraz Gabashvili, ripped the headband off his forehead and thrust his arms in the air.
An ecstatic Vesely absorbed the ovation from the crowd, including that beaming kid sporting the Czech flag on his face, then dropped to his knees to kiss the clay commemorating the biggest win of his career.
It was one of the few times Vesely was down all day.