Tennis 2026 Italian Open results, highlights: Alex De Minaur third-straight loss, Novak Djokovic beaten by qualifier, video, reaction
Alex de Minaur smashed his racquet into the clay in a rare outburst on his way to a third-straight loss.A fortnight from the start of Roland-Garros, De Minaur was knocked out in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome by home hero and world No.106 Matteo Arnaldi.It's De Minaur's third-straight loss in a form slump dating back to the Mexican Open in February.AdvertisementREAD MORE: Running has been hijacked by arms race fuelled by billionsREAD MORE: My 48 hours in PNG showed life with the Chiefs is no picnicREAD MORE: F1 caves under pressure to change controversial engine rulesAgainst Arnaldi, De Minaur won the first set, but faltered in the next two to go down 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a match that stretched four minutes shy of three hours.In the third set, De Minaur had just broken Arlandi to level the score at 4-4 when he was immediately broken back to love. As Arnaldi fist-pumped down the other end and the home crowd cheered, De Minaur slammed his racquet into the clay.Watch grand slam tennis and the WTA Tour on Stan Sport, ad-free, live and on demandCameras captured the moment De Minaur raised his racquet above his head, but cut away as he slammed it down. It was clearly captured by effects microphones.AdvertisementA signature moment of Demon magic had come only minutes earlier. In the sixth game, Arnaldi had De Minaur on the run for much of the point, before the Aussie managed to chase down and hit a forehand winner around the net post.But it was not enough to spark a fightback. De Minaur coughed up 37 unforced errors in the match, and regularly shouted back towards his players box in a mixture of anger and frustration.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt was his fourth loss from his last five matches on clay.But De Minaur's loss wasn't the biggest shock of the day – that went to Croatian qualifier Dino Prižmić, who rallied from a set down to knock out Novak Djokovic in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.Prižmić sealed the victory in style, with an ace on his first match point.The 20-year-old is 18 years younger than Djokovic, who was playing his first match in two months after suffering a shoulder injury in a fourth-round loss to Jack Draper at Indian Wells in March.AdvertisementDjokovic had taping on his right shoulder that was revealed when he changed shirts between sets.He declined to talk about any ailments, not wanting to take any focus from Prižmić. But Djokovic admitted he wanted more than one match at his only warmup for Roland-Garros.Djokovic didn't surprise himself in his only competitive clay-court match before the French, though he thought the second set was forgettable.AdvertisementAdvertisement"I see what I'm missing," he said. "Late half a step. I'm not definitely where I want to be for the highest level and to compete at the highest level and to be able to get far."Eventually you have to play. You have to start somewhere. I wanted to start earlier but I couldn't. The situation is as it is. You make the most out of it. I train hard. I train as much as the body allows me to. Then how it turns out on the court, that's really unpredictable."Asked if he was confident he'll be in good shape for the French Open which starts in 16 days, Djokovic said, "I don't know". With a smile he added, "I hope so".AdvertisementIn Djokovic's only other tournament this year, he reached the Australian Open final and lost to Carlos Alcaraz.The 79th-ranked Prižmić lost a four-setter to Djokovic in their only previous match at the 2024 Australian Open. Djokovic told him after the match his forehand had improved and he'll go far if he can stay healthy. Prižmić beat world No.6 Ben Shelton at the Madrid Open last month."He’s my idol," Prižmić said of Djokovic. "I just played unbelievably today."
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