Luca Nardi talks with Novak Djokovic after upsetting the Serbian at the BNP Paribas Open – Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic suffered one of the most unexpected losses of his career against world No 123 Luca Nardi in Indian Wells, in a match which also featured a lengthy dispute with the chair umpire.

The Italian 20-year-old was not favoured to win many games against the world No 1, let alone to knock him out by a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 margin.

But Djokovic was well short of his metronomic best, committing numerous unforced errors and struggling for focus. Nardi represents the lowest-ranked player ever to beat him at a grand slam or Masters 1000 event.

Early in the second set, Djokovic’s frustration erupted during an argument with umpire Greg Allensworth. His complaint was that Nardi had stopped for a second after mistakenly thinking that Djokovic’s serve had missed the box.

“He literally stopped and it confused me completely,” said Djokovic, who hit a casual-looking drop-shot when a stationary Nardi patted the ball back, and then did not run for the next ball, so that Nardi ended up winning the point.

“I stopped as well,” Djokovic added. “How can you not make that judgement? Are you blagging me or what?”

Allensworth replied: “Just because he stands there and doesn’t continue to play, doesn’t mean it’s grounds for a hindrance.”

Hindrance is a rule normally used when a player shouts out in the middle of a rally, distracting their opponent as he or she is about to hit the ball.

Replays suggested that Djokovic was still grumbling about this flashpoint when the players shook hands at the net, saying: “It wasn’t right, but you did well.”

Later, in the interview room, Djokovic said: “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 Dubai win. It’s fine. It’s part of the sport. You just have to accept it. Some you win, some you lose.

“Hopefully I’ll win some more and still keep going. I guess every trophy that eventually comes my way is going to be great, 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.”

When asked more specifically about his performance, Djokovic replied: “I made some really terrible unforced errors. He got in as a lucky loser to main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose. He played great. Deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad.”

For his part, Nardi – who identified Djokovic as his boyhood idol – described the victory as a miracle. “I don’t know [how I held my nerve],” he said. “I think it is a miracle, because I am a 20-year-old guy, 100 in the world, and beating Novak. It’s crazy.

“I couldn’t even imagine to play a match against him, and now I also beat him,” added Nardi, who will now face the US’s Tommy Paul in the fourth round.

“It’s such a dream come true for me. After the match, my coaches told me, Luca, everyone was cheering for you. Incredible. Against Djokovic, he’s the best player ever. I will keep it, this moment, for the rest of my life.”

‌Djokovic is at his best as a cornered beast but his motivation is waning

On waking up to Novak Djokovic’s shock loss in Indian Wells on Tuesday morning, I found myself riffling back to my notes from September’s US Open – his most recent major title.

And there it was, the piece of evidence I was looking for. In Djokovic’s press conference transcript, he was asked seven questions on a variety of subjects: everything from his leading rivals to his canny use of the serve-volley. In five of his answers, which were all characteristically lengthy, he used the word “motivation”.

Now, Djokovic has many superpowers. His flexibility. His tactical insight. His backhand! Yet perhaps the most important of all is his astonishing, unquenchable desire.

But wait. Have we hit a problem here? Could Djokovic’s loss to Luca Nardi – the world No 123 – suggest his motivation well has finally run dry?

You have to remember that Djokovic is not like Roger Federer – a man who loves tennis for its own sake, to the point where he recently posted a video of himself hitting against a wall.

No, Djokovic needs something to push against. It can be an unexpected loss, like last year’s epic Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz. Or it can be a sense of being disrespected, which has been a constant in his career ever since he first became the gooseberry in the great Federer-Nadal romance.

Last year, Djokovic had a very specific reason to feel fired up in Melbourne and New York. The previous season, he had been excluded from both tournaments on vaccination grounds. Indeed, his deportation from Australia in 2022 represented a public humiliation. When he returned to the tour in Dubai, a month later, he promised to “channel all this energy, to turn it into fuel both mentally and physically.”

Djokovic suffered arguably the worst loss of his career – Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
So what does Djokovic have left to work with? He is already the most successful player in history, with a clutch of mind-boggling statistics that may never be equalled. His status as an underdog is a long way behind him. As he ages, he is even being cheered by the same fans who used to snub him.

In my view, only one thing remains to get him out of bed in the morning and out on the practice court. It is the feeling of rivalry, of a worthy opponent to pit his wits against. He clearly fed off Alcaraz last season, telling CBS in December that the Wimbledon final “p—-d me off so much that I needed to win everything on American soil.” An extraordinary comeback in the Cincinnati final – their next meeting, just over a month later – gave Djokovic the impetus to do exactly that, while simultaneously sapping Alcaraz’s momentum so much that he has not reached a final since.

Right now, though, there is a new fastest gun in town. The 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner has lost just one of his last 22 matches, which happened to be against Djokovic at the ATP Finals in Turin. When they met again in January’s Australian Open, Djokovic threw in two of the worst sets he has ever played at that tournament – usually his early-season banker – and went down without much of a fight.

My suspicion is that Djokovic will find less joy in duelling with Sinner than he did Alcaraz. For him, playing Sinner is almost like looking in a magic mirror that takes 15 years off your age. Where Alcaraz’s tricks and quirks created a delightful clash of styles, Sinner has a relentless approach that feels like Djokovic 2.0: physically swift, powerful on every shot, remorselessly focused.

Admittedly, these are early days in 2024. A change of surface – or a Sinner injury – could shake everything up in an instant. Djokovic is hardly the sort of player you write off quickly. It is just that, as he approaches his 37th birthday, the world No 1’s body seems to be less jaded than his mind