Absolute disaster for Novak Djokovic! Matteo Arnaldi easily beats former World No.1 at Madrid Open

In a result few could have predicted, Novak Djokovic is out of the Madrid Open 2025 after just one match. The former world number one was eliminated on debut by Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, who secured a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Djokovic had been tipped as the tournament favorite following the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but he struggled to find his rhythm and was outplayed by the 23-year-old Italian throughout.

In the opening set, Arnaldi raced to an early 2-0 lead before Djokovic battled back to level at 3-3. However, the momentum soon shifted firmly in Arnaldi’s favor. After holding serve for 4-3, he broke Djokovic decisively and then closed out the set on his own serve, 6-3.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Early games were closely contested, but once again Djokovic was unable to seize control. At 3-3, Arnaldi capitalized on another break point opportunity to move ahead 5-3. Although Djokovic managed to hold serve and momentarily delay defeat, Arnaldi showed composure beyond his years to serve out the match, sealing a 6-4 second set and one of the biggest wins of his career.

It marks an early and unexpected exit for Djokovic, whose Madrid campaign ends before it ever truly began, while Arnaldi marches on with confidence and momentum on his side. It is also a losing streak as Djokovic also lost early at the Monte-Carlo Masters after falling in the Miami final to Jakub Mensik.