Indian Wells, March 12 (IANS) Luca Nardi, a 20-year-old Italian, who entered the Paribas Open main draw as a lucky loser, stunned the World No.1 Novak Djokovic in 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 17 minutes in the third round.
Last week Nardi lost in the final round of qualifying to David Goffin, but he got the call to enter the draw as a Lucky Loser when Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry pulled out of the draw.
The World No.123-ranked Italian becomes the lowest-ranked player in history to earn a win over Djokovic at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event. He is also the fourth lowest-ranked player to beat a reigning World No. 1 at a Masters 1000.
“I’m speechless. What can I say? Yesterday night I was dreaming about it, I was speaking with the coaches and dreaming about – now it’s real!” Nardi said in his on court interview late on Monday night.
The Italian, who is set to make his Top 100 debut next week thanks to his heroics, will move on to face American Tommy Paul in the Round of 16.
Djokovic saw his 11-match winning streak at ATP Masters 1000s snapped following his title runs in Cincinnati and Paris. He also suffered his first loss to a player outside the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings since a defeat to No. 109 Taro Daniel in 2018, also in Indian Wells.
Nardi, making his main draw debut at Indian Wells, was the better player in the opening set, as he parlayed a break of serve in the sixth game into a 6-4 stanza.
At 2-2 in the second set, after a trade of breaks, Djokovic began to assert himself, winning four of the final five games to force a decider, but the setback did not quiet Nardi.
The Italian pushed back in the third set, and soon scored the first break of serve for 4-2, causing the crowd to erupt at the thought of witnessing one of the biggest upsets in Paribas Open history.
Two games later it was done – Nardi dropped just three points in his final two service games, and Djokovic, the game’s best returner, could not summon the magic that has guided him to so many dramatic wins over the years.
“Congrats to him for particularly in the third set playing some great, great tennis. He got in as a Lucky Loser to the main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose, he played great and 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,” Djokovic said.
–IANS
bc/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
