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.
Both of those losses, however, were partly explained by the eye infection Djokovic suffered in Miami, which was still lingering a week later.