Djokovic struggled physically, blew a lead and exited Rome Open early | OneFootball

Two months after his last appearance on the professional circuit, Novak Djokovic (world No. 4) made his return to the tour. This time, at the Rome Open, his only tune-up event ahead of Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the season. In his debut, starting from the second round as a seeded player, he faced Croatia’s Dino Prižmić (No. 79). Surprisingly, the win went to the latter, who came from behind to prevail 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The first set showed the best of the 24-time major champion. Two breaks of serve for him, and none for Prižmić, who did not even have a single break-point chance, shaped the 6-2 in the Serbian’s favor. Up to that point, everything had gone as expected, with no surprises and a dominant performance from Novak.

However, things began to change in the second set. Djokovic’s body language showed a completely flat and different version from what he had displayed earlier in the match. In addition to losing mobility, the Croatian grew in confidence, hit plenty of winners, and handed Nole a 6-2 of his own.

After that, everything was level, with Prižmić’s confidence sky-high and Novak trying to reconnect with the sensations from the opening set. Despite a slight improvement from the Belgrade native, Dino struck first, breaking in the fifth game to go up 3-2 with serve. From that point on, despite the effort shown by the former world No. 1, the young Croatian displayed the composure of an elite player and did not let the match slip away.

As a result, Djokovic will head to Roland Garros having played only one singles match on the clay swing—and having lost it. On the other side, his conqueror will face the winner of Ugo Humbert (No. 33) or Vit Kopriva (No. 55) in the third round.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.