Nardi became the first lucky loser ever to defeat Djokovic as he stuns the Serb in the third round of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters.

Novak Djokovic (Image via IMAGO)

A result that not many tennis fans would have expected, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters in the third round. More so, he has been done by World No. 123 Luca Nardi. The Italian entered the main draw as a lucky loser and has etched his name in history.

Having grown up watching the heroics of Nole, the matchup itself was a dream come true for Nardi. But being able to defeat Novak Djokovic in their first-ever encounter, possibly even the 20-year-old wouldn’t have thought of it. He becomes the first lucky loser ever to defeat the Serbian great.

The Italian won the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after a battle of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Nardi’s first set win fueled many fans’ interest as everyone considered it a straight-set affair in favor of the Serb. The second set controversy between the umpire and Nole further brought in more fans.

As Djokovic bounced back by winning the second set, Nardi’s chance looked thinner. But he kept his calm and continued to answer every shot of Djokovic equally. He earned the only break of the third set at 3-2 and didn’t allow Nole to win back the break. He served out the match at 5-3 to register the win.

Despite making seven double faults to Djokovic’s one, he still had a better first-serve percentage. The Italian made 19 unforced errors to Nole’s nine, but he also hit double the winners than the Serb. The top seed had 17 winners for the match while the 20-year-old hit 34 winners.

Surprisingly, both players finished with the same points in the match, 92 each. But it all came down to the clutch moments and breakpoints that made the difference. The 24-time singles Grand Slam winner converted two of his four breakpoints while Nardi converted three of his 11 breakpoint chances.

Fans mock Novak Djokovic for his defeat against the lucky loser

Taking no credit away from Nardi, it was supposed to be an easy win for the World No. 1. While he was returning to the tournament after five years, he was still familiar with the surface more than the 20-year-old. The defeat is sure to sting the Serb for days to come.

Luca Nardi and Novak Djokovic (Image via IMAGO)

Fans on social media, however, enjoyed the result. An upset of this stature surely brings out reactions from many and so did this match, too. While some of the comments were straight-up mean and harsh against Djokovic, many others poked the Serb for fun owing to his defeat.

The win continues the dream run for Nardi, who will now take on local boy Tommy Paul. As for Djokovic, he can now analyze what went wrong and prepare for next week’s 2024 Miami Masters.