Novak Djokovic’s opening match loss at the 2025 Madrid Open has drawn a reaction from two tennis coaching legends.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was upset 6-3, 6-4 by 44th-ranked Matteo Arnaldi in Estadio Manolo Santana in the second round of the Masters event.
Djokovic made 32 unforced errors and was uncharacteristically poor in the pressure moments against the impressive 24-year-old Italian.
The world No 5 failed to save any of the three break points he faced, while he converted just one of the five break opportunities he created on the Italian’s serve.
The Serbian double faulted twice in a row to hand Arnaldi a service break in a crucial game when serving at 3-4 in the opening set.
When trailing 3-4 in the second set, Djokovic was unable to capitalise on a huge chance he had to break back at 0-40 on Arnaldi’s serve.
Brad Gilbert, a former coach of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff, commented on X that it was “strange” to see Djokovic “trying to play so big and slap winners, especially on clay.”
The American, who was ranked as high as fourth during his playing days, then posted: “Father Time undefeated”, in reference to Djokovic.
Rick Macci, who has coached a host of future world No 1s — including both Serena and Venus Williams — also weighed in.
“No matter what he is still the JOKER,” the 70-year-old American wrote on X.
“But you can see the confidence on the dirt is not there and that affects the movement to play offense and defense from anywhere.
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“He needs a lot more matches on the Clay to prepare for the French the right way.”
Djokovic is on a three-match winless streak as his defeat to Arnaldi followed losses to Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo and Jakub Mensik in Miami in his previous two matches. The 37-year-old lost all three of these matches in straight sets.
After his Madrid exit, Djokovic admitted his expectations for the tournament had been low — something he also said before his Monte Carlo campaign.
“I was hoping I can play one more match than I played in Monte Carlo,” the tennis great told the media. “Kind of new reality for me, I have to say. You know, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament.
“It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis, so it’s kind of a challenge for me mentally to really face these kind of sensations on the court, going out early now regularly in the tournaments.
“But, you know, that’s, I guess, the circle of life and the career (smiling), eventually it was going to happen.”
Djokovic will look to bounce back from his brutal start to the clay season at the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome next month.
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The post Brad Gilbert and Rick Macci share honest takes on Novak Djokovic – ‘Father Time undefeated’ appeared first on Tennis365.
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