Novak Djokovic suffered yet another shock opening-match loss, this time to Matteo Arnaldi at the 2025 Madrid Masters.
Arnaldi, who collected his second victory over a top-five player, served out the match with ease for a 6-3, 6-4 win to move into the third-round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The last time that the former world No 1 left Madrid without a victory was back in 2013, when he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 32 in a three-set tussle.
This encounter, however, cannot be described as such, with Djokovic several levels below his Madrid best.
“Yeah, pretty much [it feels like a dream] without any doubt,” remarked the Italian.
“He’s my idol, he has always been, so I was just glad that I could play him [Djokovic] because I had never played him – just practised once.
“So, to play him on a stage like this was already a victory for me, but, he’s not at his best right now, so I came on the court to try to play my best tennis and win, and it happened.
“Right now, I don’t even know what to say.”
The Italian had battled through a tough three-set match in the first round against Born Coric, but looked far more comfortable in the Manolo Santana stadium, with a crucial hold at 4-3 in the second after facing three break points proving critical.
In the end, Arnaldi utilised his second match point to claim the biggest win of his career.
“At the start, I just tried to not s*** in my pants to be honest,” said the world No 44, who will next face Damir Dzumhur.
“That was the main thing because, when I got on this court – I had never even practised on this court – so you don’t know anything, you don’t know the points of the court.
“Playing him, I just tried to rally a bit at the start, try to make him make mistakes. Then, the tension started to go away, and he gave me a little bit in a few games.
“For sure, when I broke him, I knew that I was going to be broken back straight after, then I was like ‘ok, that’s a good start.’ After that, it was an escalation and it became quite a good match.
“I have to watch the match again. Like I said, I have been watching him play since I was a kid, nine, ten, I always tried to play like him, so, at that point [in the 4-3 game in the second set], we were pretty similar and I won that point.”
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Meanwhile, Djokovic has been struggling for victories in 2025 – having fallen the his first match at four of his last 5 events, with the exception being at the Miami Masters.
The Serb conceded 32 unforced errors and will need to significantly raise his level at the Rome Masters, if he wishes to capture an elusive 100th singles title.
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