The Foro Italico witnessed a seismic upset on Friday. Dino Prizmic, a 20-year-old qualifier from Croatia, knocked out Novak Djokovic in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. The defeat abruptly ended the Serbian's comeback after a six-week absence from the tour.
Djokovic appeared to be cruising early on. He raced through the first set 6-2, dominating baseline rallies and leaving no room for his young opponent to breathe. But the match took a dramatic turn from there.
Prizmic came out transformed in the second set, winning the first four games with aggressive shotmaking and sharper returns. Facing a Djokovic who increasingly struggled to move freely on the Roman clay, the qualifier imposed his tempo with striking composure for a player of his limited experience.
The numbers underline Prizmic's dominance over the final two sets. He struck 3 aces to Djokovic's zero, won 51 service points against 44 for the Serb, and converted 3 crucial breaks. The overall point tally, 75 to 71, reveals a closer contest than the first set scoreline suggested.
At 38, Djokovic had not competed since his fourth-round loss to Jack Draper at Indian Wells in March. This early exit in Rome raises questions about his ability to string together high-level matches on clay ahead of Roland-Garros.
For Prizmic, this 2-hour, 15-minute victory on the Stadio Centrale marks the defining moment of a career still in its early stages. The Croatian will face his next opponent in the third round, buoyed by the confidence that comes with toppling one of the greatest champions the sport has ever seen.
