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Cape Town - Novak Djokovic was left to reflect on his shock loss to David Goffin at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday.
The world number two would battle back from a set down to force a deciding set, where he went 4-2 up, only to hand a break back to the fiery Belgian who went on to record his first ever win over Djokovic.
Djokovic indicated that he failed to adjust to the tricky light in the third set, where the setting sun was affecting the ball toss on serve, with half the court was in the shade while the other was bathed in sunlight.
"It was almost unplayable…I just got disturbed by that light," said the 29-year-old after the match.
"On 4-3 I lost that serve. On that side, it's kind of hard to find timing when somebody's kind of putting a flashlight directly in your eyes… Both of us struggled on that side. He managed to hold serve on 5-all from that side, which was a great effort from him. But I couldn't."
Djokovic added that he did not enjoy a fast start because he felt the fatigue of his previous two matches, both of which were three set battles.
"I started slowly probably because I played two long matches," said the 12-time grand slam winner.
"But I thought as the match progressed I was feeling okay. You know, I was physically fine. We had a lot of exchanges, a lot of rallies. David is playing very quick. He's a fast player. I thought I played very, very well for a set and a half, from the start of the second set.
"Then that unfortunate game when I dropped my serve, the match turned around. I had my chances, I definitely did. I just didn't use them."
The loss marks the continuation of a poor start to the year for the Serb, who has failed to make the semi-finals of a tournament in his last four outings.
