Djokovic stunned by lucky loser Nardi at Indian Wells،
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Luca Nardi used a combination of composure and power to knock out his childhood idol and top seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Monday night in the third round of the Open BNP Paribas. .
Nardi, ranked No. 123, closed his huge upset against the No. 1 player in the rankings with an ace. The 20-year-old Italian dropped his racket and raised his hands to his face in near disbelief before greeting Djokovic at the net.
“It’s a miracle,” Nardi said in a post-match interview on Tennis Channel. “I'm a 20-year-old guy, 100th in the world, and I'm beating Novak. So crazy. Crazy.”
Setting the tone from the start with his hard-hitting shots, Nardi frustrated Djokovic all evening. There was a moment when Nardi was surprised by an “in” call and sent the ball back over the net. This resulted in a winner and led Djokovic to complain to the official about a potential obstacle.
To think that Nardi was about to go home. He entered the field as a “lucky loser”, that is, a player who stumbled on the final hurdle during qualifying but managed to enter the main draw as a replacement for an injured player who withdrew before the first round. In Nardi's case, he replaced No. 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry and received a bye in the first round.
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.
Showing aggression and finesse, Nardi made Djokovic – the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion from Serbia whom Nardi grew up watching – smile and shake his head at times.
Nardi was also far from intimidated, responding to Djokovic's well-placed shots with well-placed returns of his own.
“Before tonight, no one knew me,” said Nardi, who will face American Tommy Paul in the round of 16. “I hope now the crowd enjoyed the match. I'm super happy with this one.”
“It's a miracle. I'm a 20-year-old guy, 100th in the world, and I'm beating Novak. So crazy. Crazy.”
Luca Nardi
Djokovic certainly didn't know much about Nardi, only what he gleaned from watching him play. He said he knew Nardi had a good baseline game, especially with the forehand, and moved well.
“He came in as a 'lucky loser' [the] main draw, so he really had nothing to lose. So he played very well,” Djokovic said. He deserved to win. I was more surprised by my level. My level was really bad.”
Djokovic, who lost to another Italian player, Jannik Sinner, in the Australian Open semi-finals in January, said he would likely take the court at the Miami Open later this month – here, looking for his first title of the year.
“No titles this year, it’s not something I’m used to,” he said. “I started the season most of my career with a Grand Slam win or, you know, a win in Dubai or any tournament.
“I guess every trophy that comes my way will be great, obviously, to break a little bit of the kind of negative cycle that I've had over the last three or four tournaments where I haven't really been close to my best. “.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
