Arnaldi beat fourth seed Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round. The result condemned the 37-year-old, who received a bye in the opening round, to his third consecutive defeat.

Djokovic, who has been chasing a 100th tour-level title, was handed a shock defeat in Miami Open final in late March before his second-round Monte Carlo exit earlier this month.

All three defeats came in straight sets.

"Obviously after you lose a match you don't feel good, but I've had a few of these this year where I lose in the first round, unfortunately," Djokovic told a press conference.

"I think the positive thing is that I really enjoyed myself more than I have in the Monte-Carlo or some other tournament, so that's a good thing.
"But obviously still level of tennis is not where I would like it to be. But it is what it is. I lost to a better player."


--Reuters--