Italian Luca Nardi milked his lucky loser status to the max on Monday as the underdog from qualifying rounds upset top seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters.
No. 1123 Nardi, aged 20, put an end to the Serb’s 11 match win streak at the Masters level after lifting 2023 titles in Cincinnati and Paris Bercy.
Nardi said he kept a poster of his tennis idol Djokovic over his bed from age eight.
The outsider broke for a 4-2 lead in the final set and delivered an ace on match point to earn the biggest win of his career. He ended with 36 winners and 41 unforced errors while Djokovic had 31 errors.
“Before this night no-one knew me,” Nardi said . “I hope the crowd enjoyed the game; I’m super happy with this one.”
“This really is a miracle. I’m a guy ranked outside the top 100 in the world and now I’m beating Novak — crazy, crazy.”
Nardi will try and continue his streak here as he faces American Tommy Paul in the fourth round.
