Novak Djokovic’s struggles continued in the clay-court season as he fell to his third consecutive defeat. In the second round of the Madrid Open on Saturday, he lost 6-3, 6-4 to the unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi. Djokovic, who had received a first round bye as a seeded player, had arrived here after a difficult few weeks.
His otherwise encouraging week in Miami ended with a difficult loss to Jakob Mensik in the final. He then lost his first match at the Monte Carlo Masters to Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.
Both of those losses, however, were partly explained by the eye infection Djokovic suffered in Miami, which was still lingering a week later. This time, the 37-year-old simply looked listless and off the pace as he lost his serve at the start of the match and failed to find any real rhythm until the end.
Arnaldi is a talented 24-year-old with the potential to rise far above his ranking of No 44. He makes life difficult for opponents with his defensive abilities and potent forehand. Still, this was another poor loss for Djokovic and four months into an extremely difficult year, things are not getting much better. This defeat marks the second time in his career that he has lost in the opening round of consecutive Masters 1000 events.
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