All’s not well for Djokovic in Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, March 12

Novak Djokovic waited five years to return to Indian Wells but the Serb’s campaign in the California desert came to a close much quicker than anyone expected after 20-year-old Luca Nardi pulled off a stunning 6-4 3-6 6-3 upset on Monday.

123 Nardi became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event, surpassing No. 122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami

The world No. 1 had not competed at the tournament since 2019 due to US travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic and saw his hopes of winning a record sixth title dashed by the 123rd-ranked lucky loser.

“He really didn’t have anything to lose, so he played great. Deserved to win,” Djokovic told reporters.

“I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. “These two things come together. He’s having a great day, I’m having a really bad day.”

While Djokovic was uncharacteristically sloppy, Nardi was sharp, racing around the court and pounding serves and forehands to beat the 24-time Grand Slam champion he grew up idolising.

“This is a miracle,” said Nardi, who lost to David Goffin in qualifiers on Tuesday and only got into the main draw after Tomas Etcheverry withdrew due to injury.

“I’m a 20-year-old guy, 100 in the world and I beat Novak. Crazy. Just crazy,” he said.

In other results, Gael Monfils produced a stunning display of shot-making to rally from a set and 0-3 down to beat Cameron Norrie 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 to reach the last-16. Seventh seed Holger Rune beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 7-6(5).

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka’s powerful serve and groundstrokes proved too much for Emma Raducanu as the Australian Open champion won 6-3 7-5. Elise Mertens held her nerve to send Naomi Osaka packing with a gutsy 7-5 6-4 victory. — Reuters