During the course of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, World No.1 Novak Djokovic learned that his grandfather had passed away and was unable to prevent Rafael Nadal from winning his eighth consecutive title. The Spaniard won in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
"I had no emotional energy left in me," Djokovic reiterated. "It was a bad day. I just wasn't there. I've never been caught up in this kind of emotional situation before. It's been a very difficult week for me to go through mentally. I won three matches since the news [about his grandfather]. I think I did pretty well."
Nadal, who has now won 42 matches on the trot in Monte-Carlo insisted that on certain occasions in the past, he too had felt below-par against Djokovic.
"Yes, Djokovic wasn't the real best Djokovic," Nadal said. "In other finals that I played against him, I wasn't my real best, too. But the real best are both. My real best is when I play well and when I play bad. The real Rafa is not only when I play my best. The real Rafa is when I play well, when I don't play that well. If I take that for myself, it has to be the same for others. Sometimes you play fantastic, sometimes you play normal, sometimes you play worst."