"I was very scared... ready for him to almost wanna kill me" - Novak Djokovic-conqueror addresses Monte-Carlo Masters shock

Novak Djokovic’s conqueror, Alejandro Tabilo, recently disclosed the emotions he went through before facing the Serb at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters. The Chilean revealed that although he was confident in his game, he was “scared” of the Serb coming out with all guns blazing.

Djokovic, the third seed, suffered his third opening-match defeat of the season at the hands of Tabilo (6-3, 6-4) on Wednesday, April 9. His previous such losses came against Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open and Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells.

Interestingly, this was Novak Djokovic’s second consecutive straight-sets loss against Alejandro Tabilo in as many matches. Their first meeting came on the clay courts of the 2024 Italian Open, where the latter crushed the Serb 6-2, 6-3.

While addressing his feat on the Tennis Channel, the Chilean said that he was worried about the 24-time Grand Slam champion devising a strategy after studying their previous meeting.

"I was actually very scared about that. I know how good his mental part is and I was ready for him to come out and almost wanna like kill me," he said.

Alejandro Tabilo explained that he planned to maintain his aggression from the get-go to make the Serb “uncomfortable.”

"So I started off really, really solid, just trying to be aggressive. And I tried to hold him back as well as possible. Slowly it started working and I feel like I made him a little uncomfortable in some situations, which was great for those pressure moments," the 27-year-old added.

With his latest win, Tabilo became one of only three players, besides Marat Safin and Jiri Vesely, to beat Djokovic more than once without facing a single defeat.

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Alejandro Tabilo on beating Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters: "We know how to play him"

The Serb (L) and Alejandro Tabilo pictured at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters - Image Source: Getty

Despite the whirlwind of emotions before facing Novak Djokovic, Alejandro Tabilo ultimately entered the contest with “no pressure”.

"I just tried to use it almost as in no pressure. I was talking to my coach, coming up here, that we know how to play him," he said during the aforementioned conversation.

He further explained:

"I mean, we already beat him once, so by the mental part it’s not like it would be the first time if I have the chance to beat him. So I was a little bit looser, thanks to that."

Novak Djokovic was defending his semifinal finish at the Monte Carlo Masters last year but lost a staggering 390 points following the exit. Alejandro Tabilo, meanwhile, has done one better by reaching the third round.

Before beating the Serb, he conquered yet another former champion, Stan Wawrinka, in the first round. He faces Grigor Dimitrov for a spot in the quarterfinals on Thursday.