'I watched Novak Djokovic's matches at school - now I've beaten him to win £45k'

Matteo Arnaldi pulled off arguably the in Madrid on Saturday, taking out No. 4 seed and three-time former champion . The Italian admitted he was when he took to the court to face his childhood idol.

The 24-year-old grew up following Djokovic's career, admitting that he even watched the Serb's matches while at school. But he hid his nerves well to seal a 6-3 6-4 victory. The 24-year-old has now bagged £45,385 (€52,925) for reaching the third round and will be keen to go further.

Ahead of his first career meeting with Djokovic, Arnaldi felt as though he had won already. The Italian never had a chance to face any of the Big Four - Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray - and the Serb was always his favourite.

"I was around 10 years old when I started watching and it was 2011 and Djokovic had that amazing year, winning 40 matches in a row or more," Arnaldi told the ahead of the match.

"After that, I started following him closely. At school, I was watching every match. He stayed at the top for many years, and growing up, I started to appreciate him more - his style, how he played. Just watching him on TV was special.

"I'm not saying this to take anything away from the other 'Big Four', but I really enjoyed watching him the most."

Arnaldi had plenty of near-misses with Djokovic - the pair have played plenty of the same tournaments but had never met on the match court. They had only shared one practice session at the 2022 Italian Open.

The world No. 44 added: "Just being around was already a big thing for me and now to have the chance to play him, I'm very happy. It will be my first time playing against one of the Big Fou', so I am happy as you never know if you get the chance."

Sharing the court with Djokovic was enough for Arnaldi. But he went a step further when they met on Saturday, getting a win over his hero.

After the match, the 24-year-old admitted that his admiration for Djokovic likely helped him, because he knew exactly what to expect.

"I've watched many of his games, I know his game very well, and that works in my favour because I don't think he's ever seen me play, maybe once," Arnaldi said.

"I've watched all of his matches, and today it helped me. At times, I knew what he was going to do. He's not at his best, but he's still playing well, he's a different player.

"When you see him on TV, it's completely different than when you face him. He knew what I was going to do, but in a match, there are many factors to consider that you can't control.

"I know him very well because I've watched many of his matches. I knew some things he could do in the match."

Arnaldi is now hoping to break new ground in Madrid. If he beats Damir Dzumhur, he will reach the round of 16 here for the first time.

The Italian has already guaranteed himself a healthy prize money cheque and, with one more match win, he would bank £78k (€90k).