The latest action from the tennis courts is here, with a packed schedule that saw Novak Djokovic crash out in Rome while young Spaniard Rafa Jódar continued his run.
In a major upset, Novak Djokovic was eliminated in his opening match at the Rome Masters 1000. The Serbian fell to Croatia’s Dino Prizmic at the Foro Italico with a scoreline of 6-2, 2-6, 4-6.
Earlier in the day, Rafa Jódar advanced past Nuno Borges in straight sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, to book a spot in the next round. The Spanish teenager showed resilience, winning both sets after a tiebreak in the first.
Other notable results included Sebastian Báez of Argentina losing to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 1-6, 2-6. In the women’s draw, Naomi Osaka battled past Germany’s Eva Lys 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, while Jessica Pegula cruised past Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-0.
Francisco Cerúndolo also made quick work of Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, winning 6-0, 6-2 to move forward in Rome.
One surprise came from Alex de Minaur, who was ousted early by Italian Matteo Arnaldi in three sets (6-4, 6-7, 4-6). Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek survived a tough test against American Caty McNally, eventually winning 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.
The day’s action kicked off at 11:00 with Rafa Jódar versus Nuno Borges, setting the stage for a thrilling Friday in the Italian capital.