Novak Djokovic mentioned he hasn’t been liking the sensation of being in an unfamiliar territory. It is the third month of the 12 months and the World No. 1 is with no title on the tour. On Tuesday, Djokovic suffered a shock defeat within the third spherical of the Indian Wells Masters to 20-year-old luck loser Luca Nardi of Italy.
At simply 20 years previous and ranked No. 123 within the PIF ATP Rankings, Nardi was the lowest-ranked participant to ever defeat Djokovic at both an ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam degree. This victory not solely catapulted Nardi into the highlight but additionally ended Djokovic’s spectacular 11-match successful streak at ATP Masters 1000s, following his title runs in Cincinnati and Paris. It was Djokovic’s first loss to a participant exterior the Prime 50 since 2018, additionally at Indian Wells.
“He actually did not have something to lose, so he performed nice. Deserved to win,” Djokovic, who wanted 3 units to beat Aleksandar Vukic within the first spherical, mentioned. Notably, Luca Nardi misplaced to India’s Sumit Nagal within the remaining of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger event earlier within the 12 months.
“I used to be extra stunned with my degree. My degree was actually, actually unhealthy. These two issues come collectively. He is having an important day, I am having a very unhealthy day,” he added.
Nardi, who had entered the 2024 BNP Paribas Open with merely three tour-level match wins beneath his belt, performed with an ultra-aggressive recreation plan that noticed him hitting by way of Djokovic’s defences. Regardless of Djokovic asserting dominance within the second set, Nardi’s fearless method and well timed shows of contact from the frontcourt finally secured him the victory. He hit 16 winners to Djokovic’s two within the remaining set, showcasing supreme fashion and nerve within the face of a tennis titan.
‘WANT TO BREAK NEGATIVE CYCLE’
Djokovic, who misplaced the Australian Open semi-final to Stefanos Tsitsipas, mentioned he’s hoping to shortly break his ‘detrimental cycle’ with a victory within the coming weeks, hitting at his participation in Miami. Notably, it was the primary time since 2019 that Djokovic competed at Indian Wells.
“No titles this 12 months, that is not one thing I am used to. I used to be beginning the season most of my profession with a Grand Slam win or, , Dubai win, or any event,” Djokovic mentioned.
“I suppose each trophy that finally comes my method goes to be nice, clearly to interrupt the form of detrimental cycle a bit of bit I am having within the final three, 4 tournaments the place I have not actually been near my greatest,” he added.
The Serb is not going to head to Miami Open and can to attain a deeper run within the Masters 1000 event, beginning March 20.
