Djokovic loses in three sets to Dino Prizmic in Rome
‘Not ideal preparation’ for French Open later this month
Novak Djokovic believes he must accept the “new reality” of his continuous physical struggles in the latter part of his career as his return to competition after an injury-ravaged clay-court season ended in a second-round Italian Open loss to the young Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, who recovered courageously from a set down to topple his idol 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic has not competed since the Indian Wells Masters event two months ago, his only other tournament since his spectacular run to the Australian Open final. As the fourth seed in Rome, he received a first-round bye. Despite starting the match positively, the 38-year-old was outplayed by his 20-year-old opponent, who wore the Serb down physically and played bold tennis to escape with the greatest victory of his career.
“It’s not an ideal preparation, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “I don’t recall the last time I had in the last couple of years a preparation where I didn’t have any kind of physical issues or health issues coming into the tournament. There’s always something. Kind of a new reality that I have to deal with. It is frustrating. At the same time it’s my decision to still perform in that kind of state and conditions. It is what it is.”
