Novak Djokovic has suffered a complete meltdown during one of the worst defeats of his long career.
Djokovic was featuring at Indian Wells, the event widely dubbed as tennis’ fifth major, for the first time since 2019, hoping to add a record sixth trophy from the prestigious event to his bulging collection.
Instead, the world No. 1 bowed out in the third round in an all-time shocker against world No. 123 Luca Nardi, succumbing 6-4 3-6 6-3 in 2 hours, 20 minutes on court.
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Not only is Nardi the lowest ranked player to beat the Serbian great at grand slam or Masters 1000 level, the Italian actually lost in qualifying and only made the main draw as a lucky loser.
The 20-year-old, who beat China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the second round after his first-round bye, was understandably beaming after the match.
“I think that before this night no one knew me,” he said after just his fifth Tour-level victory.
“I hope that the crowd enjoyed the game. I’m s...
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