Luca Nardi, the lucky loser of the qualifier, defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters on Monday, the biggest of his young career. won the victory.
The veteran Serbian player from Italy, ranked 123rd in the world, ended his Masters winning streak at 11, surpassing Nardi's childhood tennis idol, whose poster he had above his bed since he was 8 years old.
The 20-year-old was undaunted by Djokovic's big fight, breaking him in the deciding set to take a 4-2 lead and snatching the win with a match point ace three games later.
The Italian made 36 winners and 41 unforced errors in just under two and a half hours, while Djokovic made 31 errors.
'Crazy crazy'
“No one knew about me before tonight,” Nardi said in an on-court interview after the win. “I hope the audience enjoys the match. I'm very happy with this.”
When asked how he achieved the biggest win of his career, Nardi replied: I think it's truly a miracle. I’m a guy ranked outside the top 100 in the world, and now I’m beating Novak — crazy, crazy. ”
Nardi only reached the main draw at Indian Wells after withdrawing. He had lost to Belgium's David Goffin in the final round of qualifying.
Djokovic, on the other hand, attributed the loss to a bad day at the office.
“He was lucky enough to come in as the loser of the main draw, so he really had nothing to lose,” Djokovic said of Nardi.
“He deserved to win. I was even more surprised at how high my level was. My level was really, really bad. That's it. Those two things happen at the same time. He had a great day and I'm having a really bad day.”
Medvedev advances
In other matches on Monday, seventh-seeded Holger Ruhn was finally able to take to the court after suffering a first-round bye and a second-round bye against the injured Milos Raonic.
The 20-year-old Dane started the competition by defeating Italy's Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev struggled to get past Sebastian Korda 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, winning a bizarre match that included 31 break points (15 converted).
Korda was loaded with over 60 unforced errors, limiting the number of winners to just 14. Medvedev will next face Grigor Dimitrov.
Ninth seed Casper Ruud (Norway) defeated Arthur Fils (France) 6-2, 6-4.
Sabalenka, Gauff pick-up win
French rising star Gael Monfils has ended 2021 champion Cameron Norrie's losing streak. The 36-year-old Englishman converted a whopping 31 break points in a match Monfils won 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7). /5), 6-3.
Tommy Paul, who will face Nardi next, secured a home victory over Dubai champion Hugo Humbert 6-4, 6-4.
Taylor Fritz also joined him, defeating Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-2.
In the women's draw, reigning women's Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff advanced to the fourth round with straight-set wins.
However, former number one and 2018 tournament winner Naomi Osaka was unable to participate, and the Japanese player lost to Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-4, and will now face Gauff.
The Belgian saved three break points in the final game and advanced to her second match point, inviting a mistake from Osaka.
Osaka, a four-time major champion, will return to tennis this season after giving birth.
Earlier, Double Sabalenka defeated Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-5, but double-faulted on match point and needed three more deciding chances to advance.
“I was very happy to finish this match in two sets. The last match was a close one,” Sabalenka said. “If I had lost that match, she would have more confidence and confidence emotionally. It's a 50-50 who goes to her tiebreaker, who knows?”
Gauff, who won last September's US Open as a teenager, prevailed with minimal drama in the tiebreak, defeating Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
The US Open champion, who turns 20 on Wednesday, has won six straight against Italian opponents.
“She played really well,” Winner said of Bronzetti. “But I was a lot better than the last game. I'm improving every game.”
