World number one Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising defeat 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against Luca Nardi, a lucky loser in the third round of the "Indian Wells" tennis tournament, in a victory that the Italian player described as a "miracle." Nardi, who grew up idolizing Djokovic and is ranked 123rd in the world, played the match of his life to defeat the Serbian player, throwing his racquet to the ground and putting his hands on his face after hitting a powerful serve to clinch the win.
The loss ended Djokovic's pursuit of his sixth title, a record, at the tournament held in the California desert. Nardi, who had lost to David Goffin in the qualifiers the previous Tuesday and entered the main draw following the withdrawal of Argentina's Thomas Martin Etcheverry due to injury, stated, "It's a miracle." For his part, Djokovic commented on Nardi, saying, "He came in as a lucky loser in the main draw, so he had nothing to lose." He added, "He deserved to win. I was more surprised by my level. My level was really bad. That's it, those two things together, he had a great day, and I had a really bad day."
