Djokovic stunned by Vesely in 2nd round of Monte Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic's title defense in Monte Carlo lasted just a single match, as the world No. 1 was stunned Wednesday in the second round (after receiving a bye past the first) by 55th-ranked Jiri Vesely, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Coming into the match, Djokovic had won 24 straight sets, 14 straight matches, 22 straight matches at Masters events, 51 straight matches against players younger than himself, and 162 straight matches against players ranked outside the top 35.

He won 28 of his first 29 matches in 2016, and the only one he lost was cut short when he retired in the second set due to an eye infection. This was the first completed match he's lost since November, the earliest he's bowed out of a tournament since 2013, and the lowest seed he's fallen to since 2010.

So, yeah, there wasn't much recent precedent for an upset of this magnitude.

It required both terrifically steady play from Vesely - who'd never beaten a top 10 player before - and some uncharacteristically sloppy play from Djokovic, who's typically impenetrable return game went slack. The 11-time Slam champ made 34 unforced errors against just 26 winners, won just 13 of 25 points at net, and claimed just 39 percent of points on Vesely's second serve (for comparison's sake, Vesely won 59 percent of Djokovic's second-serve points).

''There were just very few things I could take out from today's match as a positive. I was playing really, really bad,'' Djokovic said. "I didn't feel that freshness, you know, the entire time."

Said Vesely of by far the biggest win of his career: "I feel like crying or laughing."

Djokovic also looked for the positive in the situation, which is that he'll now have a long break to gear up for the French Open - the only major he's yet to win.

''The time off will serve me well, mentally mostly,'' he said. "It's been a tough four or five months. I need time to kind of recharge."

It's also great news for Roger Federer, who's playing his first tournament since undergoing knee surgery in early February, and who now no longer has to worry about a potential semifinal clash with Djokovic.