Djokovic Knocked Out of Indian Wells by Italian "Lucky Loser"
After five years away from the Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic has returned only to find his time in the tournament cut short after he was defeated by 20-year-old Italian player Luca Nardi.
Djokovic puts up uncharacteristically sloppy performance
The match saw Djokovic put up an unusually sloppy performance in comparison to Nardi’s sharp and unrelenting one. The match was Djokovic’s first time competing in the Indian Wells since 2019 due to US travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nardi, ranked 123rd in the world, won with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against the world number one, who said: “He really didn't have anything to lose, so he played great. Deserved to win. 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."
“This is a miracle”
Nardi entered the match as a “lucky loser”, a player who lost out in qualifying but was brought in to replace an injured player. The player expressed his shock at the victory, calling it a “miracle”. He will now go on to face Tommy Paul in a round of 16 as Djokovic looks towards the Miami Open, which will take place later this month.
