Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winning a seventh Italian Open title were ended by youngster Dino Prizmic.
Djokovic looked to be on his way to securing a routine victory against his Croatian opponent when he took a 6-2 opening set lead during Friday’s contest.
However, Prizmic had other ideas, roaring back to claim the next two sets 6-2, 6-4.
Will Novak Djokovic ever return to the Italian Open?
Novak Djokovic lost to Dino Prizmic in his opening match…
With defeat, Djokovic has played his last match before Roland Garros.
Steve Johnson, the former world number 21, has offered his take on Djokovic’s surprising defeat.
Steve Johnson left surprised by Novak Djokovic ‘trying to shorten points’ against Dino Prizmic
Johnson, a seven-time ATP Tour title winner, remarked that the Serbian superstar did not look in peak physical condition.
“He was 18-0 in his first match in Rome over the course of his career, so obviously this is a surprising result for him to lose his first match,” Johnson said on the Nothing Major Show.
Novak Djokovic’s Italian Open titles
- 2008
- 2011
- 2014
- 2015
- 2020
- 2022
“He didn’t look great physically after the first set, I don’t know what it was.”
Johnson went on to admit his surprise regarding Djokovic’s decision to try and shorten the rally length against Prizmic.
“It’s just strange to me,” he continued. “I think that he [Djokovic] must not have been feeling great physically because of the fact that in the third set he was losing some of the rallies which were 10, 12 or 14 balls.
“He was going for the winner more so than Prizmic was.
“That has never been done in the history of Novak Djokovic in his career, where he has pulled the trigger first where he has tried to shorten points, against someone like that.
“He has done it against Sinner and Alcaraz as of late and the Rafas before him, but it’s weird to see him shorten those points when it gets into those long and gruelling points because that is what we have seen Novak do over the course of his entire career.”
Djokovic will now focus his attention on Roland Garros, which is set to take place from May 24.
Djokovic, a three-time champion at the event, is aiming to win his 25th Grand Slam title.
If the 38-year-old were to do so, he would move one clear of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles won.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
Novak Djokovic’s first Italian Open title
At the 2008 Italian Open, third seed Novak Djokovic defeated Steve Darcis, Igor Andreev and Nicolas Almagro to qualify for the semi-finals.
There, he defeated Radek Stepanek, setting up a clash with Swiss maestro Stan Wawrinka in the final.
Djokovic proved too strong for Wawrinka, winning their contest 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“Well, I knew that he’s [Wawrinka] a difficult player to play against on this surface, because if you look at his history of the results, he made his best results on this surface,” Djokovic told reporters in Rome afterwards.
“So he’s a specialist, and he didn’t have anything to lose. He got to the top 10 after this tournament, so obviously he’s very happy about it, very satisfied.
“But I tried to stay focused all the time, because the role of the favorite in these kind of big matches is not easy to cope with, you know.
“I didn’t think that I’m going to play in the finals against a player who’s unseeded, but obviously he deserved to be there. He showed his quality.
“So in the end, I did what I needed to do. Even though I won in three sets, I think I’m happy in general with my performance in this tournament.”
