Novak Djokovic returned to public view in Rome this week, practising Tuesday on a temporary court at Piazza del Popolo before his comeback at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The ATP Tour framed the scene as relaxed and fan-friendly. The sharper sporting question is less postcard, more pressure: Djokovic has not played since March, and he has not played a tour-level clay match since last June.
That gap matters. According to the ATP Tour, Djokovic is set to compete for the first time since losing to Jack Draper in the fourth round at Indian Wells on 12 March. That makes Rome his first competitive stop in nearly two months.
It also drops him straight onto clay, a surface where timing, movement, patience, and match rhythm punish even small delays in sharpness. The clay inactivity is even longer. The ATP Tour noted that Djokovic has not played a tour-level match on clay since his Roland Garros semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner last June.
So the Rome return is not just another Masters 1000 appearance. It is a re-entry point after a long clay absence, with the Internazionali BNL d’Italia serving as both a prestigious tournament and a live test of whether Djokovic can reassemble his clay-court game quickly enough under draw pressure. The setting helped soften the edges.
Djokovic practised in Piazza del Popolo, one of Rome’s famous public squares, on a temporary court, then signed autographs for hundreds of fans watching from the square, according to the ATP Tour. He appeared relaxed in the Italian capital. That scene gave the tournament an easy image: Djokovic back in Rome, close to supporters, comfortable in a city where he has built a heavy record.
But public practice does not answer the harder competitive questions. Rome has been one of Djokovic’s strongest Masters stages. The ATP Tour cited his 68-12 record at the event, using the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, with title runs in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2022.
That history gives him a base few players can match. It also raises the standard for this return. Djokovic is not coming to Rome as an unknown quantity or a player easing through a minor stop.
His record brings expectation, even if his recent match load asks for caution. The draw adds another layer. ATP Tour reported that Djokovic will play either Marton Fucsovics or Dino Prizmic in his opening match.
That is a manageable starting point on paper, but not a free pass after a layoff. Fucsovics brings tour experience and physical baseline resistance. Prizmic, if he comes through, would offer a different challenge built around younger legs and less emotional baggage against a name like Djokovic.
Either way, Djokovic’s first match will tell more than the Piazza del Popolo session could. The bigger danger may sit deeper in the bracket. The cluster’s draw context points to Lorenzo Musetti as a possible quarter-final test.
That matters because Musetti’s game is naturally suited to clay: shape, feel, one-handed backhand variation, and comfort in longer exchanges. Djokovic has solved more complex clay problems than that across his career, but the timing is the issue. A rusty Djokovic can still win matches.
A rusty Djokovic against a high-end clay stylist has less margin. There is also the Sinner shadow. The ATP Tour’s reference point for Djokovic’s last tour-level clay match was his Roland Garros semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner last June.
That does not make Rome a direct rematch story from the source material, and it should not be forced into one. But it does place Djokovic’s return inside the wider clay hierarchy. He left tour-level clay with a loss to one of the sport’s leading forces.
He returns needing evidence, not nostalgia. - His Rome title runs came in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2022, and his opening opponent will be Marton Fucsovics or Dino Prizmic. The implications are clear without overstating them.
This is scene-setting, not a definitive form check. The ATP Tour supplied the main image: Djokovic relaxed, practising in the city, reconnecting with fans. The sport supplies the tension: a 38-year-old champion, a long break from competition, an even longer break from clay, and a draw that can harden quickly.
Rome has often rewarded Djokovic’s discipline and problem-solving. This year, it first asks whether those tools are match-ready. What's next: Djokovic’s first match against either Fucsovics or Prizmic will give the first real measure of his movement, return timing, rally tolerance, and clay instincts after the layoff.
If he advances, the tournament can shift from welcome-back theatre to a sharper competitive read, especially if the draw moves toward a possible Musetti quarter-final. Until then, the safest conclusion is modest: Djokovic is back in Rome, but the serious evidence starts at Foro Italico. Read at ATP Tour
Why this matters
Djokovic’s Rome return matters because it is his first competitive appearance since Indian Wells and his first tour-level clay outing since last year’s Roland Garros semi-final loss to Sinner. But this cluster is not a hard news break so much as a competitive setup built from one official ATP Tour report. The public practice at Piazza del Popolo gives the image. The real story is whether Djokovic can turn reputation, Rome history, and limited recent match play into immediate clay-level sharpness.
Frequently asked
When did Novak Djokovic last play before Rome?
According to the ATP Tour, Djokovic had not competed since losing to Jack Draper in the fourth round at Indian Wells on 12 March. That makes the Internazionali BNL d’Italia his first tournament appearance in nearly two months, adding a clear rust question to his Rome return.
When was Djokovic’s last tour-level clay match?
The ATP Tour reported that Djokovic has not played a tour-level clay match since his Roland Garros semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner last June. That long clay gap is central to the Rome story because clay demands specific movement, sliding, point construction, and defensive rhythm.
Who can Djokovic play first in Rome?
Djokovic is set to open against either Marton Fucsovics or Dino Prizmic, according to the ATP Tour. The matchup will matter less as a headline name and more as a live test of Djokovic’s timing, legs, and comfort on clay after a significant break from competition.
Why is Lorenzo Musetti relevant to Djokovic’s draw?
Musetti is relevant because he is listed in the draw picture as a possible quarter-final test. That would be a more demanding clay-court examination, given Musetti’s comfort on the surface and variety from the baseline. For Djokovic, the question is whether he can build sharpness fast enough to handle that kind of matchup.
