Novak Djokovic’s time at the Italian Open came to a sudden halt as he was defeated by Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.
The Serbian took the first set and looked on his way to confirmin his place in the third rome of the Rome event, before Prizmic fought back.
Prizmic won the next two sets 6-2, 6-4 to stun the 24-time Grand Slam champion and set up a third round match with Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Djokovic has now confirmed he will not play until Roland Garros, which will leave him without a victory on clay ahead of the Grand Slam.
Last year Djokovic opted to play the Geneva Open as a warm-up to Roland Garros, which saw him win the 100th ATP Tour title of his incredible career.
His decision not to play another tournament, means he will head into Roland Garros without a clay court win for the first time in 21 years.
This hasn’t happened since 2005, when a teenage Djokovic was just about to burst on the scene at the ATP Tour and was mainly stuck on the Challenger Tour.
Djokovic only played one ATP Tour event on clay in 2005 before Roland Garros, which came in Valencia. The Serbian was defeated in the first round by Antony Dupuis.
The then-teenage star won his first match at Roland Garros in 2005, despite his lack of wins on the surface, by defeating Robby Ginepri in straight sets.
Roland Garros 2005 was just Djokovic’s second time at a Grand Slam and it was the first-ever time he was able to claim victory, so it will live long in the memory for the Serbian.
The star’s time at the Grand Slam came to an end at the hands of Guillermo Coria, who took the first two sets before Djokovic was forced to retire.
Djokovic would use the momentum he found at Roland Garros to reach the third round of Wimbledon and the US Open later that year.
Despite his career-making feat in Roland Garros, Djokovic will surely be hoping for more at this year’s event.
Without Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic will still enter the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, despite his recent form across the season.
Djokovic will have not tasted victory on clay for a full calendar year when he arrives at Roland Garros, although his recent form at the Grand Slam is still impressive.
He has reached the semi-final and the quarter-final in the last two years, and he lifted the trophy for the third time in 2023.
Ahead of this year’s event, Djokovic holds a 101–17 win-loss record at Roland Garros, which equates to an astonishing 86% winning percentage.
His overall record on clay is just as impressive and Djokovic could earn his 300th victory on the surface is he reaches the quarter-finals of Roland Garros.