ROME: Novak Djokovic slumped to an early elimination from the Italian Open on Friday, crumbling to a second-round defeat at the hands of qualifier Dino Prizmic which leaves question marks about his physical condition ahead of Roland Garros.&nbsp;Tennis icon Djokovic was sent packing by big-hitting Croatian Prizmic, who claimed the biggest scalp of his young career with a stunning 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win on centre court in Rome.&nbsp;Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, was making his comeback from a shoulder injury in the last big tournament before the French Open, which starts later this month.&nbsp;And the world number four was unsure as to whether he would be back to his best for the clay-court Grand Slam, simply saying &quot;I hope so&quot; when asked by reporters whether Paris would see the all-conquering &quot;Nole&quot; of old.&nbsp;&quot;Let&#39;s see what happens,&quot; said Djokovic, who lamented persistent physical problems in the twilight of his stellar career.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t recall the last time in the last couple of years of preparation where I didn&#39;t have any physical issues coming into a tournament,&quot; said Djokovic.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s always something, it&#39;s kind of a new reality that I have to deal with.&quot;&nbsp;Djokovic wore shoulder strappings in his first tournament since losing in the last 16 at Indian Wells in March, after pulling out of tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.&nbsp;He hadn&#39;t previously been knocked out this early in a tournament since the Madrid Open last year, and he looked a long way from the player who has won six titles at the Foro Italico.&nbsp;He breezed into a one-set lead but then buckled under the weight of Prizmic&#39;s powerful hitting which has led to the 20-year-old rising to a career-high world ranking of 79.&nbsp;Prizmic has beaten two top 10 players in a matter of weeks with sixth-ranked Ben Shelton succumbing in the second round in Madrid last month.&nbsp;Djokovic is Prizmic&#39;s idol, and a landmark win gives the young talent a match with either Ugo Humbert or Vit Kopriva and a chance to make the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.&nbsp;&quot;It was big moment for me. It was also big thing to share the court with a legend,&quot; said Prizmic.&nbsp;&quot;So yeah today, I mean, I played unbelievable. I&#39;m very happy about my performance.&quot;&nbsp;Zverev, Swiatek throughEarlier, Alexander Zverev eased into the third round after comfortably dealing with fellow German Daniel Altmaier in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.&nbsp;The second seed is in good form having reached the final in Madrid last weekend and he is again on the other side of the draw to red-hot favourite Jannik Sinner.&nbsp;The 29-year-old has been beaten by Sinner in four Masters 100 events this year and will have his work cut out if he is to add to his 2017 and 2024 titles in Rome.&nbsp;Three-time champion Iga Swiatek battled into the third round of the women&#39;s tournament with a 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 win over Caty McNally.&nbsp;Swiatek will play US 28th seed Emma Navarro or Italy&#39;s Elisabetta Cocciaretto this weekend for a place in the last 16, after a match which initially looked like being a routine win but dragged on for the best part of three hours.&nbsp;&quot;It was a tough match, Caty really played great,&quot; said Swiatek.&nbsp;&quot;I had to be patient. For sure, some mistakes happened. It was not an easy match. I&#39;m really happy I was solid at the end and in the important moments. I kept it together.&quot;&nbsp;Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has not won a clay tournament since capturing the last of her four French Open titles in 2024.&nbsp;The Pole suffered her earliest exit in five appearances in Madrid last month when she retired in the third round due to a viral illness.

Tennis

Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Italian Open after a shock defeat to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, raising fitness concerns before Roland Garros, while Alexander Zverev and Iga Swiatek advanced in Rome.

Ailing Djokovic falls to early Italian Open exit ahead of Roland Garros

ROME: Three-time champion Iga Swiatek battled into the third round of the Italian Open on Friday with a 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 win over Caty McNally. Swiatek dropped serve in the opening game at the Foro Italico but rattled off the next six to seize control against the 63rd-ranked American. The Pole seemed on course for a routine victory when she pulled 4-2 in front in the second set, but McNally twice broke Swiatek as the Pole served for the match and then snatched the tie-break. Swiatek again nudged ahead with a break for a 3-1 lead in the decider. McNally clawed herself level at 3-all before Swiatek took the final three games to book her place in the next round, to her visible relief. &quot;It was a tough match, Caty really played great,&quot; said Swiatek. &quot;I had to be patient. For sure, some mistakes happened. It was not an easy match. I&#39;m really happy I was solid at the end and in the important moments. I kept it together.&quot; Swiatek will play US 28th seed Emma Navarro or Italy&#39;s Elisabetta Cocciaretto this weekend for a place in the last 16. The Pole suffered her earliest exit in five appearances in Madrid last month when she retired in third round due to a viral illness. She was knocked out at the same stage in Rome last year as defending champion. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has not won a clay tournament since capturing the last of her four French Open titles in 2024. Alexandra Eala of the Philippines advanced with a straight-sets win over Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu. Canadian 10th seed Victoria Mboko withdrew from the event on Friday due to illness. She will be replaced in the draw by Czech lucky loser Nikola Bartunkova. Novak Djokovic is set for his first appearance on clay this season when he plays 20-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. The 38-year-old Djokovic has not played since losing in the last 16 at Indian Wells in March. He pulled out of tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid while recovering from a shoulder injury.

Poland's Iga Swiatek serves to US Caty McNally during their women's singles match of the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome on May 8, 2026. (AFP)

Iga Swiatek beats Caty McNally to reach the Italian Open third round in Rome after a tough three-set match, recovering from a second-set loss to finish strongly in the decider.

Iga Swiatek battles into Italian Open third round

ROME: Aryna Sabalenka breezed into the third round of the Italian Open on Thursday with a straight-sets win over Barbora Krejcikova, 6-2, 6-3.&nbsp;World number one and favourite for the women&#39;s title in the Italian capital, Sabalenka took one hour and 25 minutes to see off Czech Krejcikova in the final match of the day on centre court.&nbsp;Sabalenka has never won the Italian Open. Her run to the final two years ago, when she was lost to Iga Swiatek, her best result.&nbsp;But with the French Open around the corner, the Belorussian made no mistake against Krejcikova, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion.&nbsp;Sabalenka lost the first game on her serve, but from there comfortably dealt with Krejcikova to set up a match with Sorana Cirstea in the next round.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m super happy to be through. She&#39;s a great player. We had a lot of tough matches in the past,&quot; Sabalenka said on court.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m of course happy with the level I played and to get this tough win.&quot;&nbsp;The top seed is on the same side of the draw as Coco Gauff, who beat Sabalenka in last year&#39;s French Open final and made short work of Tereza Valentova in her opening match of the tournament.&nbsp;American star Gauff beat Valentova 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 34 minutes in front of a sparsely-populated centre court, and will play Argentine Solana Sierra in the next round.&nbsp;Earlier, Jasmine Paolini launched her title defence by battling back from a set down to beat France&#39;s Leolia Jeanjean 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-4.&nbsp;Paolini throughHome hope Paolini is bidding to become the first Italian woman to retain the title in Rome, but started slowly at the Foro Italico.&nbsp;The world number eight turned on the afterburners after going behind following an error-strewn first set, comfortably turning around the match to secure a spot in the third round, where she will meet Elise Mertens.&nbsp;&quot;This match was a bit of up and downs, for sure. But I remember last year, I mean, also a lot of up and downs during the tournament,&quot; said Paolini.&nbsp;Paolini&#39;s compatriot Matteo Berrettini fell at the first hurdle, 6-2, 6-3, to Alexei Popyrin, a defeat which will see the former Wimbledon finalist drop out of the top 100 in the men&#39;s rankings.&nbsp;The Rome native has had a hideous time with abdominal injuries in recent years, and since the start of the season -- when he had to pull out of the Australian Open -- he has won just nine matches and lost 10.&nbsp;&quot;It was a pretty bad day, I had no energy, and I wasn&#39;t able to use the energy of the crowd,&quot; said Berrettini.&nbsp;&quot;This year started in a particular way, and the only way I can move forward is to accept that there will be days like this.&quot;&nbsp;Another Italian in Lorenzo Sonego was dumped out at the first time of asking, the 30-year-old seen off in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 by Peru&#39;s Ignacio Buse on centre court.

Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the Italian Open third round with a straight-sets win, while Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini also progressed; Italian men suffered early exits.
 

Articles tagged with "Italian Open"

Ailing Djokovic falls to early Italian Open exit ahead of Roland Garros

Iga Swiatek battles into Italian Open third round

Sabalenka, champion Paolini open Italian Open accounts