MONACO (AP)—Novak Djokovic played just hours after learning about the death of his grandfather and defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 Thursday to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.
After clinching victory on his first match point, the top-ranked Djokovic crouched over with his hands on his knees as Dolgopolov applauded him at the net.
Djokovic then appeared to wipe away tears with his forearm before pointing with both hands to the sky as he stood on center court for a few moments.
Djokovic did not attend the usual post-match news conference, with the ATP saying he was too distressed.
"He lost his grandfather today just before the match, and it was very hard for him to play,'' the ATP said in a statement. "After he won, he just felt totally exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally.''
The top-ranked Djokovic seemed preoccupied as he walked onto center court with his head down, and his mind was clearly elsewhere in a brief first set where he missed easy volleys, sent drop shots wide and twice lost his serve to the 16th-seeded Dolgopolov.
Djokovic stared at the ground as he sat waiting for the start of the second set.
But he broke Dolgopolov early in the second and wayward shot-making gave the Serb time to get his rhythm back.
The players left the court early into the third set as the rain came down, one of several downpours during the day.
After they returned, Djokovic broke Dolgopolov in the ninth game and clinched the victory when Dologopolov sent a return wide. He'll plays either Dutchman Robin Haase or Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
Later Thursday, seven-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was playing qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
Fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France advanced to the last eight by beating No. 13 Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 (7), 6-2, after twice coming off for rain delays.
He'll play ninth-seeded Gilles Simon in an all-French quarterfinal after Simon beat No. 7 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
Third-seeded Andy Murray advanced after Julien Benneteau injured his ankle and retired near the end of a hard-fought first set with the score 6-5. He said later he had a fractured right elbow and sprained right ankle.
Benneteau, a former French Open quarterfinalist, caused Murray problems throughout a set in which both players were aggressive. But Benneteau, scampering to retrieve a shot from the baseline, slipped and rolled his ankle. He also hurt his wrist as he tried to break his fall.
"When he went down, he was making quite a lot of noise,'' Murray said.
After lengthy treatment, Benneteau briefly continued before retiring. Murray next plays sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who recovered from a shaky first set to beat No. 12 Kei Nishikori of Japan 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Nishikori only lost two points on his serve in the first set and broke Berdych twice.
Berdych has a 3-2 record against Murray, including a straight-sets win in the fourth round of the French Open two years ago.