Djokovic crashes to nervous Arnaldi in Madrid opener

MADRID: Novak Djokovic´s bid for a 100th career title was spoiled by Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who beat the Serb 6-3, 6-4 in the Madrid Open second round on Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Djokovic suffered a second consecutive opening defeat, he also exited in his opener against Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo two weeks ago.

Arnaldi, ranked 44th in the world, recorded just the second top-five win of his career and scribbled ´OMG´ on the camera lens after his landmark victory.

“At the start I was just trying to not s*** in my pants, to be honest,” said the 24-year-old Arnaldi.

The athletic Arnaldi squandered a 2-0 lead early in the contest but pounced again in the eighth game, breaking the Djokovic serve. The Italian wrapped up the opening set in 48 minutes.

Djokovic, a three-time champion in Madrid, fired 20 unforced errors in the first frame and finished the contest with a total of 32.

“He´s my idol, he´s always been. I was just glad that I could play him because I never played him, I just practised once with him. So playing him on a stage like this was already a victory for me,” said Arnaldi, who showcased an entertaining brand of all-court tennis.

“But, you know, he is not at his best right now, so I came on court to try to play my best tennis and win. It happened. So right now, I don´t even know what to say.”

Elsewhere, Lorenzo Musetti, playing his first match since reaching the biggest final of his career in Monte Carlo, moved past Argentina´s Tomas Etcheverry 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to book a third-round meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The talented Italian is on the cusp of making his top-10 debut, having entered the tournament at a career-high number 11. Musetti admitted he is doing his best not to check the ATP live rankings website until he officially joins the top-10 club. “This week, I don´t want to look,” said the 23-year-old, who moved up to number nine in the live rankings on Saturday. Reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys was broken while serving for her third-round victory at 5-4 in the second set against Anna Kalinskaya, but recovered to complete a 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) in one hour and 48 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Keys lost to Kalinskaya earlier this month in Charleston.

“I knew I had to raise my level after getting a bit of spanking last time,” said Keys.

A semi-finalist in Madrid 12 months ago, Keys awaits her compatriot Emma Navarro or Croatia´s Donna Vekic in the round of 16.

American fourth seed Coco Gauff eased past compatriot Ann Li 6-2, 6-3 to set up a last-16 clash with Swiss Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.

Seventh-seeded teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her impressive form at WTA 1000 tournaments this season by storming into the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-3 performance against Polish 27th-seed Magdalena Frech.