The prestigious ATP-1000 clay court tournament in Rome, Italy, continued its second round on May 8, 2026, delivering a day filled with dramatic results and significant upsets. The competition saw several top seeds advance, but the headline story was the shocking exit of a former world number one.
The biggest upset of the day came when Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic stunned the tennis world by defeating Serbian star Novak Djokovic. Prizmic secured a hard-fought victory with a scoreline of 2:6, 6:2, 6:4, sending the 24-time Grand Slam champion home early. This result marks a major breakthrough for the young Croatian on the biggest stage.
In other results, Germany's Alexander Zverev, a two-time champion in Rome, navigated a tricky all-German clash against Daniel Altmaier. Zverev showed his class to win in straight sets, 7:5, 6:3, and book his place in the third round. Russia's Karen Khachanov also progressed comfortably, defeating Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko 6:4, 6:4.
The day also featured a notable comeback. Australia's Alex de Minour was forced to battle through three sets against Italian wildcard Matteo Arnaldi. After losing the first set, Arnaldi fought back to take the next two tiebreakers, ultimately winning 4:6, 7:6, 7:6 in a thrilling encounter that delighted the home crowd.
Elsewhere, Norway's Casper Ruud, a clay court specialist, delivered a dominant performance against American Zachary Svajda, winning 6:1, 6:3. Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo also advanced without dropping a game, defeating Chile's Alejandro Tabilo 6:0, 6:0 in a flawless display.
The tournament continues to build momentum as the draw narrows, with the results from May 8 setting the stage for an exciting next round. The early elimination of Djokovic has undoubtedly opened up the bottom half of the draw, creating new opportunities for the remaining contenders.
Based on reporting from Чемпионат.com.