Novak Djokovic crashes out of Madrid Open after defeat by unseeded Arnaldi

Setback in troubled year for 24-time Grand Slam winnerSerb also lost in Monte Carlo in build-up to Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic’s struggles continued in the clay-court season as he fell to his third consecutive defeat. In the second round of the Madrid Open on Saturday, he lost 6-3, 6-4 to the unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi. Djokovic, who had received a first round bye as a seeded player, had arrived here after a difficult few weeks.

His otherwise encouraging week in Miami ended with a difficult loss to Jakob Mensik in the final. He then lost his first match at the Monte Carlo Masters to Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.

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