TENNIS – CROATIAN qualifier Dino Prizmic stunned his childhood hero Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-4 in the second round of the Italian Open yesterday, as the Serbian struggled with exhaustion and backhand errors in his first match on clay this year.
It was the first time Djokovic lost his opening match at the Italian Open in 19 appearances.
The six-time champion, playing for the first time since March, took the first set but was outplayed by the increasingly aggressive 20-year-old who took control of the contest with powerful forehand winners.
“Big respect for Novak, he’s my idol, so it was definitely a great match for me,” said Prizmic, who is 79th in the rankings.
Prizmic, who beat Marton Fucsovics in the first round, raced to a 4-0 lead en route to winning the second set.
The fourth-ranked Serb handed Prizmic the decisive break in the third set with two backhand errors. Prizmic held his nerves as he built on his 3-2 lead, and secured victory with an ace.
“I played unbelievable. I just want to stay focused and to be ready for the next one,” said Prizmic, who also beat world number six Ben Shelton at the Madrid Open last month.
Prior to the match, Djokovic made sure to lower expectations ahead of his Rome campaign.
“I am not the happiest with the level of tennis or the movement or the physical state, but it is getting there,” he stated.
“I wanted to be back on the Tour earlier but couldn’t. I was injured, so I had to deal with it progressively.”
The pair had previously met at the 2024 Australian Open, where Djokovic survived a hard-fought four-set battle 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 against the then teenage Prizmic.
“He told me that he thought I was much better in my movement,” said Croat during his interview with Sky Sports.
“He’s very happy because also when I played against him at the Australian Open, he told me lots of things, so I have huge respect for him for that.
“I mean, after the match against Novak at the Australian Open, a lot of things happened with my injury, so maybe I was not ready for this big stage. But now I feel very good, so yeah, just want to keep going, and that’s it.”
Djokovic will continue his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam at the French Open from May 24, two days after he turns 39.
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