Alejandro Tabilo has joined an exclusive club after upsetting Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Chilean produced an excellent performance in Monaco to beat the third seed in straight sets and continue a strong run as the clay-court swing begins.
Having beaten Stan Wawrinka in the first round, the left-handed Tabilo swept aside Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to book his place in the round of 16.
It was his second meeting with the 24-time grand slam champion, and his second victory, with Tabilo repeating the feat he achieved on the Rome clay at the Italian Open last year.
The 27-year-old looks set to climb back into the top 30 of the world rankings as he bids for further success on the Cote d’Azur having become only the third player to win each of his first two meetings with Djokovic.
Most prominent among the trio is Marat Safin, twice a grand slam winner and scourge of the Serbian early in his career. The Russian beat a 17-year-old Djokovic on his way to Australian Open success in 2005, before a rather more unlikely win on the grass at Wimbledon in 2008 as Safin made a deep run to the semi-finals.
The other individual to deny Djokovic twice in two meetings is another leftie. Jiri Vesely may yet encounter Djokovic again on the ATP Tour, though has tumbled down the rankings, perhaps leaving his 2-0 record intact.
The tall Czech tasted his first success against the then-World No 1 in Monte Carlo, like Tabilo dumping out Djokovic in the second round in 2016. Six years later in Dubai, Vesely closed out a straight sets win in a tie-break.
