"Italians are hunting Djokovic this year" - Tennis fans after Djokovic's shock defeat at Indian Wells

Following his shocking loss to lucky loser Luca Nardi at the 2024 Indian Wells Open, tennis fans have proposed several theories as to why Novak Djokovic fell in such a dramatic fashion.

Djokovic made his return to Indian Wells after last participating at the 2019 edition, and faced lucky loser Nardi in the third round. Despite being viewed as a stepping stone for the World No.1, the Italian stunned the tennis community as he recorded a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory to score the upset of the tournament and the biggest win of his career.

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Fans undecided on cause for Djokovic's loss

Ranked at World No.123, Nardi become the lowest-ranked player to ever defeat the Serbian at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event. Several took to social media to express their disbelief, with a few attributing the loss to Djokovic's record against Italians. Another speculated that World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz knew this would happen, as the Spaniard wrote some cryptic words (N see you soon) on the camera following his third round win over Felix Auger Aliassime.

"N was for Nardi, Alcaraz knew," wrote one fan in reference to Alcaraz's message.

"Italians are Novak Djokovic's weakness," wrote another fan, pointing out that Djokovic's other defeat came at the hands of Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.

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"Novak is having some trouble with Italians lately," agreed another fan.

"You know what's Djokovic's weakness? Gluten. You know what has Gluten? Pasta!" speculated a fan.

"Italians are hunting Djokovic this year," chimed in another fan.