Italian Open 2026: Dino Prižmić secures biggest win of his career against Novak Djokovic in three-set thriller

If you did not already know the name Dino Prižmić, you will now.

The 20-year-old Croatian tennis starlet pulled off the greatest victory of his career so far, as he came from behind to defeat Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the Italian Open 2026 second round.

Prižmić came into the match a huge underdog – he is 75 places below Djokovic in the rankings – but off the back of a maiden top-10 win in Madrid against Ben Shelton. Now he has two, and a first career victory against the Olympic men’s singles champion.

The unseeded qualifier from Split awaits the winner of 31st seed Ugo Humbert and Czechia's Vít Kopřiva in the next round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He guarantees a career-high ranking with his two-hour, 15-minute victory on Friday (8 May).

"For me, it is hard to [know what to] say,” Prižmić said via the ATP Tour. “I have big respect for Novak. He is my idol, so it was a great match for me today. I played unbelievable and I want to stay focused and be ready for the next one.”

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Italian Open 2026 – Dino Prižmić sends shockwaves through Rome

In the space of a month, Prižmić has broken into the top 100 players in the world and defeated two players among the best 10 in the ATP rankings. Now with a statement showing against his idol, the best is surely yet to come for the man known as ‘Dince’.

The Croatian came up against a Djokovic who had not played a tour-level match in 57 days, his first of the clay swing in preparation for Roland-Garros. The 38-year-old may seek an entry to the remaining tournaments, albeit at a lower level, in Hamburg (ATP 500) or Geneva (ATP 250), where he is the defending champion.

The defeated Djokovic was nonetheless gracious, greeting the victor with a warm smile at the net before signing autographs for fans. The sportsmanship was reciprocated by Prižmić, who wrote on the television camera: “Nole [Djokovic], it was a pleasure!!”

Campo Centrale came to see the 24-time Grand Slam champion, and instead they got a glimpse at one of the sport’s rising stars on the other side of the net. Prižmić, who came through the qualifiers in Rome, broke Djokovic on three occasions and brought relentless aggression through a series of deafening winners and volleys down the line.

It was the Croatian with the upper hand as the match ticked towards two hours deep in the third set, finding all his angles on the way to breaking at 3-2. His strong rate of net points (11 out of 14 won) was crucial in breaking down his Serbian opponent.

This is Prižmić’s ninth victory of the tour-level clay swing (excluding the Monza challenger, where he reached the final) and his most monumental one yet. No doubt that the 20-year-old will never forget this damp evening in the Italian capital.

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