Novak Djokovic returns to clay

Novak Djokovic's tennis season like no other resumed Tuesday on home clay, reports Reuters.
Deported from Australia in January because he was unvaccinated against COVID-19 and thus did not fulfil entry requirements, beaten early in Dubai in February and unable to enter the United States for tournaments in March, Djokovic returned to the court at the Monte Carlo Masters after a seven-week break from competition.
Off target from the start, he scrapped valiantly before fading to lose his opening match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Davidovich, a 22-year-old Spaniard, broke Djokovic's serve nine times, the most Djokovic has been broken on tour in any best-of-three-set match.
"I collapsed," Djokovic told reporters in Monaco. "I was hanging on the ropes the entire match. I was really chasing the result constantly."
It was of course an upset. Djokovic, despite his latest hiatus, is still ranked No. 1 on the men's tour. He has won 20 major singles titles, nearly completed the Grand Slam last season and has been the second-best men's player on clay for the past decade behind Rafael Nadal.
Davidovich, despite reaching the quarterfinals of last year's French Open, is ranked No. 46 and had lost in the opening round of his last two tournaments. Until Tuesday, he had beaten only one top-10 player.