From lucky loser to favorite fright: The Italian Nardi is causing a sensation in Indian Wells. A look at the statistics shows how historic his win against Djokovic is.
Historic defeat for the world number one who is used to success: Completely surprisingly, Grand Slam record winner Novak Djokovic failed at the tennis tournament in Indian Wells against the Italian Luca Nardi, who is only ranked 123rd in the world rankings. The Serb has not lost to a similarly low-ranked opponent in a Grand Slam or Masters event for 16 years.
In 2008, Djokovic faced South African Kevin Anderson, who was number 122 in the world at the time, in three sets in Miami. This time in Indian Wells it was 4:6, 6:3, 3:6 in the third round against 20-year-old Nardi after 2:17 hours. For Djokovic it was the first defeat against a player not listed in the top 50 since 2018. At that time, Djokovic lost – also in Indian Wells – to the then 109th in the world rankings, the Japanese Taro Daniel.
Nardi only made it into the main draw of the prestigious tennis tournament as a lucky loser. When he converted the match point, the Italian covered his face with his hands in disbelief. “I don’t think anyone knew me before tonight,” he said after the triumph. “It’s a miracle. I’m a 20-year-old guy who’s ranked somewhere 100 in the world and I’ve now defeated Novak. Just crazy.”
Own idol defeated
Nardi had previously described Djokovic as his idol and revealed that he had a poster of the Serb hanging in his room as a child. In the round of 16 Nardi will now face the American Tommy Paul.
Djokovic said his opponent had nothing to lose. “He played great.” Nardi ultimately deserved to win. “I was more surprised by my level. My level was really, really bad,” said the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
For Djokovic it was not the first disappointment in the still young year of 2024. At the Australian Open in Melbourne he failed in the semifinals against the Italian Jannik Sinner. Although that was a defeat against another top player, it was also the first semi-final defeat for ten-time Australian Open champion Djokovic at his favorite tournament and his first defeat there in 2195 days.
Source: Stern
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