Djokovic’s surprise defeat against the 123rd in the world in his debut in Indian Wells – – 2024-03-13 13:07:51

In an astonishing turn of events at the prestigious Indian Wells competition, the outstanding Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, ranked number 1 in the world, has been surprisingly eliminated in his second match of the tournament by the young Italian Luca Nardi, a ‘lucky loser’ who is ranked 123rd in the ATP ranking (6-4, 3-6, 6-3). This match, defined by moments of tension and surprise, has left fans and spectators witnessing one of the most unusual matches in the recent history of the Indian Wells Masters 1000.

The match began with Djokovic losing the first set, although he quickly recovered in the second. However, it was in the course of this second set that a particularly unusual moment occurred: Djokovic served him and, in response, Nardi returned the shot after pausing briefly, thinking the ball had been bad.

That impasse completely disconcerted Djokovic, who nevertheless tried to continue the game with a drop. Nardi, anticipating it, advanced towards the net and got the point, which led to an argument between Nole and the umpire over the peculiar situation. The Serb expressed his disbelief and frustration, pointing out that Nardi had stopped, which had completely confused him.

“He braked, it’s not a reaction. He literally stopped, he completely confused me. How can you not notice it? Are you charging me or what?” the Serbian reproached him. Despite the heated discussion, in which the umpire gave him his point of view, Nardi won the point and, eventually, the game, after breaking Djokovic’s serve.

This episode did not prevent Djokovic from maintaining his composure to close the second set, extending the match to a decisive third set. Despite the Serbian’s efforts to stay in the competition, the night belonged to Nardi, who, in his first Masters 1000, emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, securing his place among the 16 best of the tournament.

At 36 years old, and after having shown vulnerability during his opening match in Indian Wells against Australian Aleksandar Vukic – a match that also saw him lose a set before securing his 400th victory in Masters 1000 tournaments – Djokovic was facing high expectations. Indian Wells, a tournament held on American soil and known for its challenging conditions, had been conquered by Djokovic on five previous occasions, most recently in 2019.

His return marked an expected moment, but ended in an unexpected defeat that will be remembered both for the peculiarity of the event and for the final result.

Luca Nardi, at just 20 years old, signed one of the most significant victories of his career by beating one of the most successful athletes in the history of tennis. This triumph not only gave him a prominent place in Indian Wells but also positions him as the first to beat Djokovic with such a low ranking in a major tournament, be it a ‘major’ or a Masters 1000. Previously, the Djokovic’s last defeat against a player outside the ‘Top 50’ had occurred in this same tournament in 2018 against Taro Daniel, then ranked 109.

At the same time, the Italian became the fourth player with the lowest ranking to beat a number 1 in this type of tournament (The last was No. 175 Kokkinakis against Federer in 2018), as well as being among the four minor players 21 years old to beat Nole on hard court.

It should be remembered that the Italian had lost in the second round of qualifications against the Belgian David Goffin, but entered the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’, advancing directly to the second round, in which he beat the Chinese Zhizhhen Zhang.

Regarding his historic victory, the young man commented to the press: “It is a dream come true. Before the match, I told my coach that my goal was not to lose 6-1 6-1, but after three or four games I realized that I could win the match. I felt very good in the back-of-court exchanges and the fact that there was wind I think benefited me a lot.”

“For me, Djokovic is the best tennis player of all time, so I can never forget what I did today. For more than ten years of my life I have watched his games and the great advantage I had today is that he had not seen me play. I got very nervous when he served to win the match, so I decided to hit the first serves. “I don’t know, this is incredible,” said Luca Nardi, visibly moved.