The tennis world could have been Matteo Berrettini's several years ago. He had a huge forehand and good serve, and almost as importantly, a lot of charisma. With long-term success on the court, he could have been one of the better-known players in tennis for years.
Injuries took a toll, though, and that caused diminished results. Even when relatively healthy, Berrettini has not been able to sustain the kind of form that earned him 10 titles in his career, the most recent coming in 2024. He is nowhere close to greatness so far in 2026.
That continued in his first-round match against 20-year-old Dino Prizmic, who had not yet won a match at a Masters event until Indian Wells this year. The Croatian is up to No. 87 on the ATP tour, but still has a career losing record. One wouldn't know that from watching him play the Italian in Madrid, however.
Dino Prizmic overcomes Matteo Berrettini at the 2026 Madrid Masters
It was Prizmic that wasn't beating himself. He tried to overhit at times, but stayed poised in the bigger moments of the first set and got a break early. He was able to ride that to a 6-3 first-set victory, but he also wasn't seeming to play beyond his means. As long as he stayed cool and didn't let the moment overwhelm him, he appeared certain to move into the second round.
The second set didn't go as smoothly. Prizmic began to hit a lot more unforced errors than winners, though he was landing his first serve more. This allowed him to keep winning service games while his forehand and backhand were trying to fail him.
Berrettini's body language likely gave Prizmic a boost, too. The former No. 6 was clearly feeling defeated long before he was in a position to actually lose the match. While Prizmic's form dipped slightly in the second set, the Italian's form didn't increase. He stayed a steady amount of meh.
Prizmic, who had to qualify to get into the main draw of the Madrid Open, kept holding, though at times he was pressed by Matteo Berrettini. The Croatian was even able to get to deuce on Berrettini's serve with Prizmic leading 5-3 in set two, but the Italian held.
Instead of seizing up in the moment and struggling in his next service game, Prizmic held after being forced to deuce to take set two 6-4. His cool attitude is something to keep an eye on for tennis fans as he tries to work his way up the ATP rankings.
Dino Prizmic's next match will not be an easy one. He will take on fourth-seed, and red-hot, Ben Shelton in the second round. Shelton had a bye in the first round and is fresh off winning the clay-court BMW Open.
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