Novak Djokovic was shockingly dumped out of Indian Wells by lucky loser, Luca Nardi on his return to Tennis Paradise for the first time since 2019 in a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 loss to the Italian Lucky Loser as doubts continue to swell around the World No.1.
Djokovic himself was pretty damning on the way he played as well as remaining magnanimous in defeat as he called his level 'really really bad' and that some of the errors he made in his mind were 'terrible'.
“Congrats to him for particularly in the third set playing some great, great tennis. I watched him play. I didn't know much about him, but I watched him play, and I knew he possesses great quality tennis from the baseline, especially the forehand side. Moves well. Very talented. He got in as a Lucky Loser to main draw, so he really didn't have anything to lose, so he played great," said Djokovic.
"Deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. That's it, you know. These two things come together. He's having a great day; I'm having a really bad day. Results as a negative outcome for me.”
"I made some really terrible unforced errors. Just quite defensive tennis, and, you know, not much on the ball in the third, and that's it. You know, he just stepped in and he used the time that he had. He was playing more free and more aggressive than I did, and going for his shots and that break on 3-2 in the third was enough. Just a bit of windy conditions today. Completely contrary to what I was having in my training sessions these days, and the first match, but still, it's not an excuse. I should have done much better."
But also it continues a run of no titles for Djokovic this year which is something he is not used to certainly and it is tough to take for Djokovic.
“I could have done everything different. I mean, as I said, very poor performance from my side. Yeah, no titles this year. That's not something I'm used to. I was starting the season most of my career with a Grand Slam win or, you know, Dubai win, or any tournament.
"It's fine. You know, it's part of the sport. You just have to accept it. Some you win; some you lose. Hopefully I'II win some more and still keep going. I guess every trophy that eventually comes my way is going to be great (smiling), obviously to break the kind of negative cycle a little bit I'm having in the last three, four tournaments where I haven't really been close to my best.”
Novak Djokovic says Luca Nardi deserves to win, but that he played really badly: “Congrats to him for particularly in the third set playing some great, great tennis. I watched him play. I didn't know much about him, but I watched him play, and I knew he possesses great quality…
