Alex de Minaur's alarming form slump continued at the Italian Open as he suffered a racket-smashing 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 defeat to Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the second round. The world No. 8 from Australia has now lost four of his past five matches on clay, raising concerns ahead of the French Open later this month.
Another Early Exit
Playing at the Foro Italico in Rome on Friday morning, de Minaur was outlasted by the home favourite Arnaldi, who received vocal support from the crowd. The match lasted nearly three hours, with de Minaur taking the first set before faltering in the decisive moments.
After breaking back to level the third set at 4-4, de Minaur was broken to love and reacted by smashing his racket into the clay in a rare display of frustration. He committed 37 unforced errors and frequently shouted towards his coaching box in exasperation.
This defeat marks de Minaur's third consecutive loss and the first time in three years he has suffered back-to-back first-match exits in tournaments. Earlier, he was beaten by Rafael Jodar in his opening match at the Madrid Masters.
Bigger Shock: Djokovic Falls
The biggest surprise of the day came as Novak Djokovic, returning from a two-month injury layoff, lost 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. The 20-year-old, ranked 79th, sealed the win with an ace on his first match point. Djokovic, 38, had his shoulder taped and appeared far from his best.
Alexei Popyrin remains the last Australian in the singles draw after Aleksandar Vukic lost 6-4, 6-2 to American 16th seed Tommy Paul.
