ATP star says he’d ‘prefer’ if Novak Djokovic decides to give big event a miss in 2026
Alejandro Tabilo is one of the few active players with a winning record against Novak Djokovic, but he has tongue-in-cheekily admitted he hopes he doesn’t have to face the tennis great when Chile take on Serbia in the Davis Cup.
The South Americans will host the Europeans in the first round qualifiers on the weekend of February 6-8 with the tie likely to be staged on the clay in Santiago.
There were initially fears that Chile’s No 2 Tabilo would skip the rubber as he was set to play in an exhibition event in the United States, but the world No 82 has allayed fears that he will miss the big Davis Cup encounter at home.
“It was a misunderstanding, something I’m learning, it was a bit of my fault,” he told En Cancha. “I spoke with [Chile captain] Nico [Massu] and we’re very motivated.”
Facing Serbia will be a difficult challenge as the 201o champions are seeded 14th and they could have all-time great Djokovic in their squad.
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Although the 24-time Grand Slam winner is playing a reduced schedule these days, he has made it clear that representing Serbia remains one of his priorities.
However, it remains to be seen if he will make himself available for the trip to Chile as the tie will take place just a few days after the Australian Open.
Djokovic has only played one tournament in South America, and that was the 2016 Rio Olympics, as he usually skips the Golden Swing in Latin America.
Tabilo – who has a 2-1 record against the former world No 1 as he won their first two encounters on clay before Djokovic got his win at the Hellenic Championship in November – admits he would rather not face the tennis legend in February.
“It’s going to be a very tough tie against Serbia, and we’ll see if Djokovic comes,” he said. “Obviously, it would be incredible for the fans if he came, but for us, I’d prefer he didn’t, haha.”
The former world No 19 added: “It’s going to be a great series. We’ve been doing really well at home, so hopefully we can use that advantage to our benefit.
“We hope a lot of people come out to support us, whether Djokovic comes or not, and we’ll go all out and try to win the series for Chile. It would be great to play against him in Chile, with all the fans there. That would be incredible.”
