Tessa Lee, Sports journalist reporting on global leagues since 2021.
Alex de Minaur suffered another early exit at the Italian Open after losing 4 6, 7 6 (7 5), 6 4 to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi at the Foro Italico in Rome on Friday. The Australian world number eight took the opening set but could not close out the contest in front of a vocal home crowd. The defeat matters because it extended de Minaur’s recent slump on clay and raised fresh questions ahead of the French Open later this month.
It was de Minaur’s third straight defeat and his second consecutive opening match loss on clay. He had also fallen in his first match at the Madrid Masters, where he was beaten by rising Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar.
That sequence means de Minaur has now suffered back to back first match exits for the first time in three years.
Frustration boils over in deciding set
The match lasted just four minutes short of three hours and featured several momentum shifts.
After winning the first set, de Minaur remained competitive throughout a tight second and third set battle. In the deciding set, he fought back from behind and broke to level the score at 4 4.
But the momentum turned immediately. Arnaldi broke de Minaur to love in the next game, taking control of the closing stages.
The Australian’s frustration became visible after he netted a forehand that effectively handed over the crucial game. In an uncharacteristic reaction, de Minaur smashed his racquet into the clay.
Rain began to fall late in the contest, adding another challenge as the match entered its decisive phase.
Unforced errors prove costly
De Minaur struggled for rhythm at key moments and his inconsistency proved expensive.
He finished with 37 unforced errors and frequently showed visible frustration toward his coaching box. Several times during the match he shouted out in exasperation as opportunities slipped away.
Arnaldi, ranked world number 106, stayed composed under pressure and fed off strong support from the Rome crowd.
The Italian had been expected to face intense resistance from one of the top seeds, but instead held firm in the decisive moments to secure one of the more notable home wins of the tournament.
French Open concern grows
The defeat means de Minaur has now lost four of his past five matches on clay.
That is an uncomfortable statistic with Roland Garros approaching later this month. Clay has traditionally been his least productive surface, and the recent results suggest he is still searching for confidence and rhythm at an important stage of the season.
Earlier this year de Minaur had produced strong form and climbed into the top 10. However, the recent clay swing has brought a noticeable drop in momentum.
His immediate challenge will be to reset quickly before Paris.
Djokovic also knocked out in Rome
De Minaur’s loss was not the biggest surprise of the day.
Novak Djokovic was also eliminated after a 2 6, 6 2, 6 4 defeat to Croatian qualifier Dino Prižmić.
The 20 year old, ranked world number 79, sealed the biggest win of his career with an ace on his first match point. Prižmić is 18 years younger than Djokovic and produced a composed display after losing the opening set.
“He’s my idol,” Prižmić said.
“I just played unbelievably today.”
It was Djokovic’s first match since March after two months out with a right shoulder injury.
Djokovic avoids discussing shoulder issue
The 24 time Grand Slam champion had his right shoulder taped and was not at his sharpest throughout the match.
Djokovic had not played since his fourth round defeat to Jack Draper at Indian Wells. After the loss in Rome, he declined to go into detail when asked about the shoulder.
“I hope you understand I will not talk about that. I want to congratulate Dino, deservedly the winner today,” Djokovic said.
“I came in to have a match or more. Unfortunately, only a match. It’s all right. I’m pleased at least that I fought until the end.”
The result adds further uncertainty around Djokovic’s preparation heading into the French Open.
Australians reduced in singles draw
Alexei Popyrin is now the last Australian remaining in the men’s singles draw.
Aleksandar Vukic exited after a 6 4, 6 2 defeat to American 16th seed Tommy Paul.
In the women’s draw, Talia Gibson also bowed out. The 21 year old from Perth made an encouraging start against world number 20 Diana Shnaider and came from behind to win a tight opening set 7 5.
Gibson won three straight games for the loss of only three points to take the first set after just under an hour.
That proved to be her high point. Shnaider responded strongly, winning 5 7, 6 1, 6 1 to move through.
