Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat at the Italian Open to Dino Prizmic, marking his first opening-match loss in Rome across 19 appearances at the tournament.
The Serb appeared firmly in control early on, taking the opening set 6-2 against the young Croat and dominating the longer rallies, particularly those extending beyond nine shots.
Djokovic’s movement and consistency from the baseline looked sharp, with Prizmic struggling to cope with the pace and depth coming from the former world No 1.
However, momentum shifted dramatically at the start of the second set. Prizmic immediately broke Djokovic’s serve to love and quickly backed it up with another break to storm into a 3-0 lead.
The Croat’s aggressive returning and fearless shot-making began to trouble Djokovic, who looked increasingly uncomfortable physically as the match progressed.
After sealing the second set 6-2, Prizmic carried that confidence into the decider. The third set remained tightly contested until the Croat earned a crucial break at 2-2 before holding his nerve to serve out an impressive 6-4 victory.
Both players appeared hindered physically during the encounter. Prizmic required a medical timeout for back discomfort, while Djokovic was seen taking pills for apparent stomach issues during the latter stages of the match.
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“To be honest, it’s not ideal preparation,” analysed Djokovic during his post-match press conference.
“I don’t remember a moment in the last two and a half years that I haven’t had a physical problem in preparation for a tournament. There is always something.
“It’s a new reality that I have to deal with. It’s frustrating. But at the same time, it’s my decision to compete in these conditions. It is what it is. I don’t know if I’ll get to Roland Garros in good shape, I hope so.
“I didn’t play too badly. To be honest, I don’t think I played that badly. The second set was something to forget, obviously, because of how I felt on the court, but the first and third were good.
“In the end, it was a good battle. Obviously, I see what I’m missing. I’m definitely not where I want to be for the highest level, to compete at the highest level and go far.
“In the end, you have to play matches for that, and you have to start somewhere. I wanted to start earlier, but I couldn’t. So, yes, that’s the way it is. The situation is as it is.
“You just adapt and get the most out of it. I train hard. I train as much as my body allows me to, but what happens on the court is really unpredictable.”
Djokovic had not played a match since his fourth-round defeat to Jack Draper at the Indian Wells Masters, having taken time away from competition to recover from an apparent shoulder injury.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is next scheduled to compete at the French Open, which runs from May 24 to June 7, after choosing to skip the Geneva Open – a tournament he won 12 months ago.
“For me, it is hard to [know what to] say. I have big respect for Novak. He is my idol, so it was a great match for me today,” Prizmic said during his on-court post-match interview.
“I played unbelievable and I want to stay focused and be ready for the next one.
“First set he played unbelievable and at the end of the set I tried to find my game and I did it, so it is very, very good.”
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.”