Francesco Maestrelli on Novak Djokovic’s tournament: ‘One of the happiest things in my life’ | ATP Tour
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Maestrelli happy with Djokovic’s match: ‘One of the happiest things in my life’
The Italian explains his Australian Open success and the changes that have helped his game
January 21, 2026
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Francesco Maestrelli defeated Terence Atmane on Monday in the first round of the Australian Open.
Written by Andrew Eichenholz
The look on Francesco Maestrelli’s face said it all Monday at Melbourne Park. The Italian had just beaten Terence Atmane in the first round of the Australian Open and it’s understandable that he couldn’t hold back the tears.
“I am very worried, I dreamed a lot about these games and for me it was a dream to participate in the first one. [major main draw] about my work,” Maestrelli told ATPTour.com.
It was not only Maestrelli’s first major draw match, but his second tour-level match overall. The Pisa native’s only ATP Tour clash came in October 2022 in Florence. Now the 23-year-old will go straight into the area.
Maestrelli will next face 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. The Italian said he had watched the Serbians “millions of times”.
“They told me that there is a chance to play Djokovic and it will be one of the most exciting things in my life,” said Maestrelli. “It’s crazy to have the opportunity to see his name next to mine in an official game, let’s see, I will try my best to win.
The four-time ATP Challenger champion has never practiced with Djokovic or had an official conversation with him. Maestrelli said “Ciao!” to the Serbian a few times over the years, but he will have to be ready to take on the 24-time champions on Thursday in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head tournament.
“That’s one of the players who doesn’t have that [many] weak points,” said Maestrelli. “It will be very difficult to prepare for the game and I think we will try to put everything I have on the field and it will be difficult.”
Maestrelli showed the world his talent at a young age, breaking into the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings in September 2022 as a 19-year-old. But it took him more than three years to enter the Top 150.
That’s not easy, because when you make big results when you’re young, it’s easy, you don’t know much about the Tour, then you go and play,” said Maestrelli. “But you have to know that there are bad times when the results don’t come. You have to try hard, stay. [through] great difficulty and we try to improve on that.”
Maestrelli trained at the local center of the Italian Federation from the age of 16. But two years ago, Maestrelli moved two hours from Pisa to Sinalunga, where he trains under Giovanni Galuppo and Gabrio Castrichella.
“It was very exciting because it was something new for me and it’s great to share this time with them,” said Maestrelli. “I’m very afraid of changes, but I thought that was the right time to do it, so I tried to go [not] think about it, and maybe, [now that it is] two years later, I can say it was the right decision.”
Besides tennis, Maestrelli likes to play basketball. His favorite player is Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball because of his intelligence on the court. The Italian also likes to watch his local football team Pisa Sporting Club.
“I’m a normal guy, and I try to do my best in what I love: tennis,” said Maestrelli. “I’m trying to put everything in there, and I’m a tall guy, I’m going to try to serve quickly, because I know that in circles maybe he’s better than me. But I don’t know, let’s see.”
