He couldn't believe it himself: Matteo Arnaldi. © ANSA / Chema Moya

Djokovic defeated: Young Italian with a moment of glory

A major sensation occurred at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. Novak Djokovic has already been eliminated – because of a young Italian.

26 April 2025

From: det

"He's been my idol for ages. Playing against him and winning is like a dream come true." These were the words of Matteo Arnaldi (ATP 44) after the biggest victory of his career to date. On Saturday, the 24-year-old from Sanremo knocked out the great Novak Djokovic (ATP 5) in the second round of Madrid. The score was 6-3, 6-4 after 101 minutes – and Arnaldi could hardly believe his luck.

"I've never played against him, only trained with him. I was just happy to be able to play against him today," said Arnaldi, who achieved the big coup on his first attempt. While the Italian is now in the third round, Novak Djokovic's crisis continues. The 100th tournament victory, which the 37-year-old has been chasing for months, seems to be jinxed.

Novak Djokovic puts his hands over his face. © APA/afp / THOMAS COEX

That the 24-time Grand Slam champion is struggling with his form became clear once again on Saturday in Madrid. Djokovic made an unusually high number of errors, making life difficult for himself. Arnaldi sealed the first set with two breaks and kept his cool in the second set.

A great hope for the future

Thus, the Italian experienced his personal finest hour. Of course, this doesn't come out of nowhere. The 24-year-old, currently ranked 44th in the world, is one of Italy's great hopes for the future. In 2023, he was part of the Davis Cup team that, under the leadership of Jannik Sinner, brought the coveted trophy back to the country. Now, the coup against Djokovic is in the works. In the third round, Arnaldi will face Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (ATP 63).