The week (and why not, life) has not stopped smiling lately at Luca Nardi. The Italian tennis player, barely 20 years old, is living dreamed and surely unthinkable days in Indian Wells. It’s just that he went from accessing as lucky loser this tournament Masters 1000one of the most important within the ATP circuit, beat none other than the Serbian Novak Djokovicthe number one in the world and his absolute idol.
Nardi, 123rd in the ATP ranking, had not been active on the major circuit this year. He had only participated without much success in some qualys and smaller competitions. His luck did not change in qualifying for the tournament being held in the Californian desert, where he lost to the experienced Belgian David Goffin.
However, from that moment on, fortune for him took a 180 degree turnbecause the injury of Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry put him as a “lucky loser” not only in the main draw, but directly in the second round, because the player from La Plata was pre-classified.
In this way, a victory against the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen by 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in his debut in Indian Wells left him on the verge of an unimaginable third round duel against Djokovicthe tennis player who had on a poster in his house in Pesaro and who returned to activity this week, after another six Rest.
With nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, Nardi went out to play this Monday night against the Serbian, five-time champion of this tournament. And he not only lived up to it, but he managed an impressive victory by 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4, in in two hours and 22 minutes and to the absolute astonishment of the central court.
The Italian he played boldly against the winner of 24 Grand Slams, achieving up to 34 winners to Djokovic’s 17. The relaxed posture that he adopted was such that losing 2-0 in the second set, he had the luxury of “deceiving” Nole: he pretended to stop playing a point, his rival stopped and then defined cross to break the serve of Djokovic.
His confidence was not even eroded when the Serbian, the biggest Masters 1000 winner in history (40 titles), won that set despite the argument he had with the chair umpire over that play.
With a lot of mental strength, Nardi quickly recovered from the blow and continued with his risky strategy until he took a 5-2 lead and sealed the shocking victory with his serve.
Djokovic, 36, had not competed in Indian Wells for five years due to his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19, which prevented him from entering the United States.
Nardi thus became the third player outside the top 100 to beat the Serbian as world number one. Until now, only the Czech Jiry Vesely had achieved it, when he was 123rd, and Juan Martín Del Potro from Tandil, when he was in 141st position in the ranking.
In the next round of Indian Wells, the Italian will play the round of 16 against the American Tommy Paul, number 19, who beat the Frenchman Ugo Humbert this Monday. In addition, he will be among the best 100 rackets on the ATP circuit.
“I think that before tonight no one knew me. I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. “I’m super happy,” an incredulous Nardi managed to say, who obtained only his fourth success on the ATP circuit, although it will surely be one of the most important of his career.
Novak Djokovic: “He deserved to win and my level was very bad”
Djokovic took stock after the surprising defeat against Nardi, whom he particularly congratulated “for the great tennis in the third set.” “I didn’t know much about him, but I saw him play, and I knew that he has high-quality tennis from the baseline. He moves well. He is very talented,” praised the Serbian.
“He entered the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’, so He had nothing to lose and played very well. deserved to win. I was more surprised by my level, which was very, very bad. “Both things came together,” she assessed.
Then, when asked if his inactivity could have influenced the result, he stated: “I’m going to analyze what I did, what I could have done better, and then move on. Now I’m more selective with my schedule so it’s not a great feeling when you quit too early and especially here, I haven’t played in five years. “I really wanted to do well but it couldn’t be.”
“It’s not something I’m used to,” he said of not winning titles in 2024. He added: “Most of my career I started with a victory in a Grand Slam or another tournament. It’s okay. It’s part of the sport. “You have to accept it. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I hope to win more and move forward.”