Novak Djokovic has already been eliminated from the Masters tournament in Rome. The world No. 4 lost to rising underdog Dino Prizmic of Croatia.
Novak Djokovic has already fallen at the first hurdle at the Masters tournament in Rome. The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost on Friday to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic 6-2, 2-6, 4-6. For the world No. 4, it was his first appearance in nearly two months—and a setback on the road to the French Open, which begins at the end of the month.
The 38-year-old had recently taken a break due to a shoulder injury and made his comeback in the Italian capital. “To be honest, I don’t think I played that badly,” said Djokovic, a six-time champion in Rome, after the match: “It was okay; it was a good battle in the end, but obviously I can see what’s missing. I’m half a step too late. I’m definitely not where I want to be to compete at the highest level.”
Djokovic? “He’s my idol”
Yet the Serb initially had everything under control. Despite a shoulder bandage, he dominated the first set, aided by 13 unforced errors from his opponent. But Prizmic stepped up his game significantly, putting Djokovic under pressure with powerful groundstrokes and winning four games in a row at the start of the second set.
The 20-year-old Croatian, who had traveled to Rome with a career-high ranking of No. 79, thus confirmed his upward trend. Following his victory over world No. 6 Ben Shelton in Madrid, Prizmic celebrated the biggest win of his career to date.
“He’s my idol. It was definitely a great match for me today. I played incredibly,” said Prizmic. He will now face Ugo Humbert or Vit Kopriva and can continue to dream of his first appearance in the round of 16 at a Masters tournament.