"I didn't talk about it, but I was having big personal problems" - Novak Djokovic opens up on his 2023 Monte-Carlo upset

Novak Djokovic recently revisited his shocking upset in the early rounds of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Djokovic, a two-time Monte-Carlo Masters champion, faced a surprising defeat to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16 at the event in 2023, after being broken a staggering eight times during the match. The heavily rain-delayed tie had its fair share of controversy as well.

Novak Djokovic, who had a set advantage, was up in arms about a controversial call by the chair umpire in the second set. In the moments that followed, Musetti clinched the set to force a decider, which led to an angry outburst from the Serb, and he was issued a code violation for racket abuse.

The World No. 1, who was also dealing with an elbow injury during his Monte-Carlo run, was unable to keep pace with his opponent in the final set, giving Musetti his first win against a top-ranked player (4-6, 7-5, 6-4).

Djokovic praised the Italian but was otherwise frosty during his very short post-match presser.

“I cannot say nothing, I’m okay. I’m fine. Congrats to him. We move on,” he was heard as saying. “It’s not a great day for me, so I’m not really in the mood to speak.”

The Serb has now revealed that he was dealing with some personal issues during his campaign, which was the reason for his frustration.

“I didn’t talk about it at the time but, at that time, I was having big personal problems. It is in these circumstances that I become very frustrated,” he recently told L’ Equipe.

Novak Djokovic said that he tried to keep things as professional as possible, but he was battling emotions that day.

“Obviously, I don’t want to show it too much, I try to remain as professional as possible but I remain human, with emotions… And I wasn’t happy to lose a match. But what awaited me outside of a tennis court mattered more that day,” he said.

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Novak Djokovic in quest for 25th Grand Slam title at Australian Open 2024

The Serb pictured at the 2023 Australian Open

While Novak Djokovic suffered a few uncharacteristic losses in 2023, he hardly faltered when it came to Grand Slams. The World No. 1 featured in all four Major finals last year, winning three – the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.

The Serb fell short against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon title clash. He is now looking to put up a perfect score at the Grand Slams in 2024, starting with the Australian Open.

The ten-time tournament champion, who is in quest of a record 25th Major trophy at the event, will start his Melbourne campaign against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic on Sunday, January 14.