In the third round of Indian Wells on Monday, fortunate loser Luca Nardi upset world no. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-6 6-3; the 20-year-old Italian called the triumph a “miracle”.
Raising to the 123rd rank in the world, Nardi, who was raised idolizing Djokovic, fought the match of his life to overcome the Serbian, covering his face with his hands and dropping his racket after sending an ace wide to complete the victory.
Djokovic’s attempt to win a record-tying sixth championship at the event in the California desert is dashed by the loss.
“This is a miracle,” declared Nardi, who was eliminated from the main draw by Tomas Etcheverry’s injury on Tuesday after losing to David Goffin in qualifying.
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“I defeated Novak at the age of twenty, ranking 100 in the world. Absurd. Simply insane.”
Under the lights on center court, Nardi came out firing. He used a short ball to bring Djokovic to the net and then sent a forehand past him to take a 3-2 lead and an early break.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion’s service return reached the net, giving Nardi the opening set because Djokovic was far from his best.
The number one seed defeated Nardi twice in the second set and held to tie the match, but his opponent—who grew up with a poster of Djokovic on his wall—would not give up.
Before pulling off the upset, Nardi hit a backhand that Djokovic was unable to return to play, giving him a critical break and a 4-2 lead in the final.
Next up for Nardi is American Tommy Paul.
Earlier, to get to the round of 16, Gael Monfils defeated former champion Cameron Norrie 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 after mounting an incredible comeback from a set and 3-0 down.
The crowd was enthralled by the 37-year-old Frenchman’s inventiveness, which set up a fourth-round matchup with Casper Ruud, the ninth seed.
The 2021 champion Norrie made 60 unintentional mistakes and was unable to complete the tricky Monfils puzzle during the three hours and fifteen minutes of play.
“I feel better and better, to be honest,” stated Monfils, who missed a portion of the previous campaign due to a wrist ailment.
It has been a long time since I have been able to play for weeks on end. I’m feeling well. I’m satisfied that the body is holding up thus far.”
United States The 2022 event champion Taylor Fritz easily defeated Sebastian Baez 6-2 6-2, and Grigor Dimitrov’s comeback to the top of the rankings continued with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Adrian Mannarino of France.
In other third-round action, 17th-seeded American Paul easily defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-4, while seventh-seeded Holger Rune defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 7-6(5).
Reporting by Rory Carroll; editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris
