A big surprise on Tuesday night at the ATP 1000 tournament in Indian Wells.
World number one Novak Djokovic had a surprising third-round bye. Serbian Luka Nardi lost 4:6, 6:3, 3:6 to the 20-year-old lucky loser.
Nardi is only ranked 123rd in the world. Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam or ATP 1000 tournament to a lower-ranked player in the ATP rankings before. Nardi is the fourth-lowest ranked player to top the 1000 event.
“I don't think anyone knew me before that evening,” laughed Nardi after his fifth win at ATP Tour level. “I hope people enjoyed the tournament. I am definitely very happy with it.
Nardi won with aggressive play
Nardi has already proved he has plenty of chances in the second round with a win over China's Zhang Jichen – his first win against a top 50 player. The Italian continued this strong performance in his match against Djokovic.
With his more aggressive style of play, he frustrated the defensive master Djokovic. Especially at the beginning of the third set, the game grew to a very high level. Tied at 1:1, the Serb initially served three break points to level the set at 1:1. At 0:40, the score was 2:3 and Djokovic could no longer get his head off the ropes. The Italian gets the decisive break.
Nardi finally brings the narrow lead to the finish. “To be honest, I don't know how I managed to control my nerves,” laughed Nardi after the game. “I think it's a little bit of a miracle. After all, I'm a 20-year-old guy who got into the top 100 and now I beat Novak. Absolutely crazy!” Nardi will now face American Tommy Ball, who beat France's Hugo Umbert 6-4, 6-4.
Medvedev knees Korda
Daniel Medvedev and Sebastian Gorda also deliver top-notch performances. After more than two-and-a-half hours, the fourth-seeded Russian finally prevailed 6:4, 5.7, 6:3. Defeated Cameron Norrie (GBR/28) 6:7 (5), 7:6 (5), 6:3.
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