A physically hampered Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round defeat at the Italian Open to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.
The Serbian was competing in his first tournament since Indian Wells in March, when he lost to Jack Draper in the fourth round, and in his first match in Rome after receiving a first-round bye.
He has been sidelined since Indian Wells with injury and struggled again physically in the Italian capital on Friday, with Prizmic taking the biggest scalp of his career 6-2 2-6 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes.
Then aged 18 Prizmic took a set off Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2024, and he played with aggression and intent, particularly in the final set, to down his childhood idol on Campo Centrale in their second-ever meeting.
Djokovic, who has won the Rome title six times, cruised through the opening set before becoming laboured in the section, and despite a fightback in the third was no match for his opponent.
He told the ATP before the match: “I am not the happiest with the level of tennis or the movement or the physical state, but it is getting there. I wanted to be back on the Tour earlier but couldn’t. I was injured, so I had to deal with it progressively.”
The surprise defeat is his first ever in his opening match in Rome. Most significantly, it leaves him short of match fitness having only played one clay-court match ahead of the French Open, which begins on 24 May.
Prizmic, the world No 79, will face either Vit Kopriva or Ugo Humbert in the second round.
He has enjoyed a positive clay season thus far having beaten Ben Shelton en route to the Madrid Open third round last month for his first top-10 scalp, with his second coming in quick succession against Djokovic, the current world No 4.
