Arnaldi on facing 'idol' Djokovic: 'I am going on court to win'

When Matteo Arnaldi walks onto court on Saturday he will be fulfilling a childhood dream. The 24-year-old Italian is set to face Novak Djokovic in the second round at the Mutua Madrid Open, marking his first meeting with the Serbian.

“I looked at the draw and knew if I beat [Borna] Coric I would have Novak next. He is my idol and we’ve been close to playing before, in the same part of the draw but it didn’t happen. Finally I get to play against him and I am so happy for the chance,” Arnaldi told ATPTour.com after his three-set first-round win against Borna Coric.

Like many of the current generation on Tour, Arnaldi grew up watching Djokovic battle with fellow legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Italian enjoyed watching the Swiss and the Spaniard but was drawn to tennis by Djokovic’s success.

“I was around 10 years old when I started watching and it was 2011 and Djokovic had that amazing year, winning 40 matches in a row or more,” Arnaldi said, referring to Djokovic's 41 consecutive wins in 2011. “After that, I started following him closely. At school, I was watching every match. He stayed at the top for many years, and growing up, I started to appreciate him more — his style, how he played. Just watching him on TV was special.

“I’m not saying this to take anything away from the other ‘Big Four’, but I really enjoyed watching him the most. The past couple of years I was at the same tournaments but never got the chance to play him. I practised with him in Rome. I warmed him up for a first-round match in 2022. That was one of my first experiences at a Masters 1000. Just being around was already a big thing for me and now to have the chance to play him, I’m very happy. It will be my first time playing against one of the ‘Big Four’, so I am happy as you never know if you get the chance.”

Despite never facing Djokovic, Federer, Nadal or Andy Murray in the past, Arnaldi has big-match experience to fall back on. He has played Top 5 stars Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, earning victory against the American. Arnaldi is hoping those experiences will help him on court against Djokovic.

“I’ve played a few big matches the last couple of years. I played Alcaraz before—my first big match,” Arnaldi said. “Then I played Taylor Fritz, Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev. I know how to play with those big crowds.

“I don’t know if the crowd will support me, but I’m also happy to play on the main court here. I’ve never played or even warmed up on it. I’ve played on most of the centre courts on Tour, so I was missing this one. I am happy for that chance too.”

Arnaldi made his tour-level debut in Rome in 2022, the same year he competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. He went on to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2023 and made his maiden ATP Tour semi-final in Umag. Last year, the 24-year-old advanced to the last four at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, reaching a career-high No. 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Arnaldi is pleased with his journey so far but knows there is a lot more work ahead.

“I’m definitely the type of guy who gets excited to be on court,” Arnaldi said. “In the last few tournaments, I had a bit of trouble with that. I was focusing too much on results instead of enjoying it. This week, and even last week in Barcelona, I’ve tried to go back on court and enjoy it again. Not that I didn’t love it, but I just want to have fun with it.

“It has been just two years, but I’ve already made good progress. I escalated pretty quickly, so it’s normal to have a period of adjustment. My goal is to break into the top 32 and be seeded. That helps a lot. I’m going to try to reach that and then aim even higher.”

For now, all focus will be on Djokovic and while the matchup is special, Arnaldi isn’t looking to simply soak in the experience: “I’m going on court to win. That’s my mentality.”