Novak Djokovic was defeated by Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match at the 2025 Madrid Open. This was the Serb’s first match at the Caja Magica since 2022, where he reached the semifinals before being eliminated by Carlos Alcaraz.
The match between Djokovic and Arnaldi was the first encounter between the two players on the ATP Tour.
Matteo Arnaldi Scores First Win Against Novak Djokovic in Madrid
Djokovic was seeded fourth at the Madrid Open and he kicked off his campaign in the second round after he received a first-round bye. He faced Arnaldi, who defeated him in straight sets, with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Following his win over the 24-time Grand Slam champion, during the post-match on-court interview, Arnaldi shared that he was initially nervous about playing in Madrid as he had never practiced or competed on that court before.
“I mean at the start I was just trying to not sh*t my pants, to be honest. That was the main thing because I never played on this court, never even practiced. So I was already coming to this court, you don’t know anything, you don’t know the points of the courts and everything,” Arnaldi said.
The 24-year old also revealed that during the match, his confidence grew after he was able to push Djokovic to make mistakes.
“So then playing him [Novak Djokovic] I was just trying to rally a bit at the start, tried to make him do some mistakes and then you know once he starts, you start to feel better. The tension goes a little bit away and he gave me a little bit in a few games for sure,” he continued.
Arnaldi stated that after he made a “good start” in his match against Djokovic, his nerves began to dissipate and he started to play better and better as the match progressed.
After Defeating Novak Djokovic, Who Will Matteo Arnaldi Face in Madrid Open 3R?
Following his win over Djokovic in the second round of the 2025 Madrid Open, Arnaldi is set to go head-to-head with Damir Dzumhur in the third round of the tournament.
Dzumhur began his run at the ATP Masters 1000 clay court event in Madrid by triumphing over Mattia Bellucci 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. He then went on to defeat 32nd seed Sebastian Baez 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round to secure his spot in the third round where he will face Arnaldi.
Arnaldi and Dzumhur have never faced each other on the ATP Tour and their third-round match in Madrid will be the first time that these two players will play against each other. The winner of this match will advance to the fourth round, where they will meet either 16th seed Frances Tiafoe or Alexandre Muller.
