Djokovic's Kryptonite

Why does Novak struggle so much in this matchup...?

"Ah, Mr Tabilo, I've been expecting you..." - Djokovic, while dramatically turning his chair around, stroking a white cat like a James Bond villain. While that sentence might be entirely fictional, there must be some kind of real feelings for Djokovic here? Surely, he cannot allow someone like Alejandro Tabilo to become his "dad" (beating someone three times in a row). Especially not in this event, which he is connected to! Djokovic has lost to him in Monte Carlo this year and in Rome last year, and while his effort simply hasn't been the best at these events in the last years, there is clearly something that really bothers him in this matchup. I mean, look at the scorelines... 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-4 for Tabilo! After both losses, Djokovic was really critical of his own level, saying it was really bad. Nonetheless, Tabilo will have some confidence ahead of this match, and we will find out if it was truly just two really bad Djokovic performances or if Tabilo masters this matchup ;) Something that will be very different from the last times is the conditions... going from mud-slow to very fast. While Tabilo can play quite well in most conditions (slow, fast, clay, hardcourt, etc) this is something that should benefit Djokovic, we love him on fast and low-bouncing surfaces. However, Tabilo has already played a long match against Walton in the first round, so he'll be quite used to the conditions (he played pretty well). Even if we want to believe in Djokovic to deliver a serious performance here, will the odds be high enough to justify backing him? He has now confirmed he will be playing in Turin. Will he start with a huge performance straight away after retiring due to fitness issues in Saudi Arabia in his last match? Will his hunger for revenge and the desire to build form for Turin overcome all the other potential question marks ahead of this match? Well, let's have a look at the odds...