Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic stunned No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in second-round action of the Italian Open Friday in Rome.
After losing the final four games of the opening set, the 20-year-old Prizmic won the first four of the second set on the way to leveling the match. He then came away with the only break of the third set at 2-2 to secure his second career win over a top-10 opponent.
“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 after the match. “I played unbelievable and I want to stay focused and be ready for the next one.”
Both competitors had more unforced errors than winners but Prizmic (30-25) had a more favorable ratio than Djokovic (26-17), as well as the only three aces in the match.
Djokovic, who was competing in his first event since Indian Wells in early March, was visibly struggling with his fitness, particularly in the second set. But he wasn’t using that as an excuse after losing his first career opening match in Rome.
“I hope you understand I will not talk about that. I want to congratulate Dino,” Djokovic said. “Deservedly the winner today.”
That was not the only big-time upset of Friday’s action. No. 6 Alex de Minaur of Australia lost his opener as well, falling to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The local wild card sandwiched a pair of third-set breaks around a break on his own serve to reach the third round in Rome for the first time at 25.
Belgium’s Alexander Blockx, coming off a semifinal appearance in Madrid, knocked off No. 29 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
Otherwise, it was an upset-free day on the men’s side as the other 12 seeds advanced.
Amongst the Americans, No. 16 Tommy Paul triumphed over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-2 and No. 19 Learner Tien had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur. Unseeded American Zachary Svadja lost 6-1, 6-3 to No. 23 Casper Ruud of Norway, while lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic battled but came up short in a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) loss against Dutch competitor Botic van de Zandschulp.
No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany beat countryman Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-3; No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy swept France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4; and Kazakhstan’s ninth seed Alexander Bublik needed just 59 minutes to rout Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-2.
No. 32 Rafael Jodar of Spain, coming off a quarterfinal and semifinal in his last two events in his home country, beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 7-6 (4), 6-4 in his opener in Rome.
No. 11 Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic, No. 13 Russian Karen Khachanov, No. 18 Luciano Darderi of Italy, No. 25 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and No. 31 Ugo Humbert of France all advanced in straight sets.
–Field Level Media
