Through his official X profile, well-known analyst José Moron commented on Djokovic's current status: "Just as I said when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal seemed close to retiring, consider every match of Nole Djokovic as a great gift. The day he retires from tennis will be really sad and we will miss him exactly like Roger and Rafa.

On Saturday, the 4-seed Djokovic took on unseeded Matteo Arnaldi in their first-ever meeting. Arnaldi defeated Djokovic in straight sets during their second-round match at the Madrid Open: 6-3, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic said he had to face up to his “new reality” after another opening-match loss, this time to world No. 44 Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open. “Trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament,