May 31, 2022; Paris, France; Novak Djokovic (SRB) returns a shot during his match against Rafael Nadal (ESP) on day 10 of the French Open at Stade Roland-Garros.

tennis

Novak Djokovic vs. Matteo Arnaldi Head to Head Record, Preview and Prediction for ATP Madrid Open 2025 Round of 64

Winner faces Damir Dzumhur in Round-3.

May 31, 2022; Paris, France; Novak Djokovic (SRB) returns a shot during his match against Rafael Nadal (ESP) on day 10 of the French Open at Stade Roland-Garros.

A lot of talk surrounding Novak Djokovic has been about his 100th Tour-level title. After making a disastrous start to his clay court season in Monte Carlo, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic aims to turn his season around at the 2025 Mutua Madrid Open. The No. 4 seed begins his campaign against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi on Saturday for a spot in Round 3.

A three-time champion at this event, Novak Djokovic is entering his second home at the Spanish capital. Although his last victory here was in 2019, he is the active player with most titles in Madrid. It is no secret that Djokovic’s 2025 season has not gone to plan – after retiring in the Australian Open semifinal, he suffered three opening round losses in four tournaments. The Serbian will look for inspiration from his Miami Open campaign where he was the finalist.

Matteo Arnaldi is coming into this match with a 9-9 record this season, including a thrilling win over Borna Coric in Round-1. His best result in 2025 was at the Delray Beach Open (lost in the semis to Davidovich Fokina 4-6 4-6). At the young age of 24, Arnaldi has already reached the Round of 16 at two out of four Grand Slams.

Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Arnaldi Head to Head Record

The head to head record between Novak Djokovic and Matteo Arnaldi is 0-0. The Madrid Open Round of 64 is the first occasion of the two stars coming up against each other.

Novak Djokovic faces Matteo Arnaldi today in the Madrid Open ☀️

The Serbian master is looking to grab his 100th tour-level title and end an 8-month drought 🎾 pic.twitter.com/MMXC3BJkQg
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 26, 2025

Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Arnaldi Titles Comparison

Novak Djokovic	Category	Matteo Arnaldi
24	Grand Slams	0
99	ATP Singles Titles	0
1	ATP Doubles Titles	0
40	Masters-1000 Titles	0
15	ATP-500 Titles	0
Gold (Paris 2024)	Olympics Best Performance	R2 (Paris 2024)
No. 5	Current World Ranking	No. 44

Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Arnaldi Madrid Open 2025 Prediction

Considering there is no past record of this rivalry, we have to base our predictions on their clay court prowess. While his 2025 record suggests otherwise, Djokovic is an expert at navigating his way past tricky encounters in the early stages of tournaments. Arnaldi will attempt to attack the former World No. 1’s serve and erratic forehand, but Djokovic can produce counter attacking winners at will.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in three sets.

Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Arnaldi Madrid Open 2025 Betting Odds

Djokovic Win: 3/10

Arnaldi Win: 11/4

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Betting

Carlos Alcaraz

Madrid Open

Matteo Arnaldi

Novak Djokovic

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.