It was a night to remember for Matteo Arnaldi, who delivered a career-defining performance by defeating Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Madrid Masters 1000. The 24-year-old Italian, currently ranked No. 43 in the world, sealed a straight-set victory over the Serbian star, 6-3, 6-4, marking one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.
“I was nervous at the start—I was just happy to share the court with my idol,” Arnaldi admitted after the match. “I still can't quite believe it happened. Staying calm in the final game felt almost impossible, but I managed to do it.”
Djokovic, struggling to find his rhythm and far from peak fitness, made several uncharacteristic errors, which Arnaldi exploited brilliantly by engaging him in long rallies and waiting for the right moments to strike. The Italian broke early in the first set and closed it out confidently. In the second, a crucial break at 3-3 gave Arnaldi the edge, and despite facing three break points on his own serve, he held his nerve to close the match.
Alcaraz turns the tide to take Monte Carlo crown, but Musetti earns Italy’s respect
13 Apr - 16:46 •
1' min
Next up for Arnaldi is Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur, who advanced past Baez after defeating Italy’s Bellucci in the previous round.
Elsewhere, Lorenzo Musetti also moved into the next round with a solid straight-sets win over Argentina’s Marcos Etcheverry (7-6, 6-2). The world No. 11 will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jan-Lennard Struff in the following round.
Matteo Berrettini kept his hopes alive as well, edging past American Marcos Giron in three sets (6-7, 7-6, 6-1). However, the match wasn’t without drama, as the Italian needed a medical time-out for abdominal issues late in the second set before storming back to dominate the decider.
Not all went well for the Italian camp, though. Lorenzo Sonego was ousted by Australia’s Alex De Minaur in straight sets (6-2, 6-3), suffering his fourth consecutive loss against the Aussie. Meanwhile, Luciano Darderi was forced to retire due to injury in his match against Frances Tiafoe, who was leading 7-5, 3-1 when the withdrawal came.
