March 12, 2024 10:50 pm | Updated 10:51 pm IST – Indian Wells, U.S.
Indian Wells, CA, USA; Luca Nardi reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic within the third spherical match within the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Luca Nardi used a mixture of poise and energy to stun his boyhood idol and top-seeded Novak Djokovic with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win within the third spherical of the BNP Paribas Open.
Nardi, who’s ranked No. 123, closed out his large upset over the No. 1 participant within the rankings with an ace. The 20-year-old from Italy dropped his racket and introduced his arms to his face nearly in disbelief earlier than greeting Djokovic at the online.
“This is a miracle,” Nardi mentioned in an interview after the match on the Tennis Channel. “I’m a 20-years-old guy, 100 in the world, and beating Novak. So, crazy. Crazy.”
Setting the tone early along with his hard-hitting photographs, Nardi annoyed Djokovic all night. There was a second when Nardi was stunned by an “in” name and casually hit the ball again over the online. It resulted in a winner and led to Djokovic complaining to the official a couple of potential hindrance.
To assume, Nardi was almost on his method house. He acquired into the sphere as a “lucky loser,” which is a participant who came across the ultimate hurdle in qualifying however made it into the primary draw as a substitute for an injured participant who pulled out earlier than the primary spherical. In Nardi’s case, he stepped in for No. 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry and acquired a bye via the opening spherical.
He went on to grow to be the lowest-ranked participant to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 stage occasion, surpassing No. 122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami.
Using a mixture of aggressiveness and finesse, Nardi had Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion from Serbia he grew up watching, smiling and shaking his head at occasions in a mix of shock and shock.
Nardi was removed from intimidated, both, answering Djokovic’s well-placed photographs with well-placed returns of his personal.
“Before this night, no one knew me,” mentioned Nardi, who will face American Tommy Paul within the spherical of 16. “I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. I’m super happy with this one.” Djokovic definitely did not know that a lot about Nardi, solely what he gleaned watching him play. He knew Nardi had a powerful baseline recreation, particularly with the forehand, and moved nicely.
“He got in as a lucky loser’ to (the) main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose. So he played great,” Djokovic mentioned. “Deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad.”
No. 4 Daniil Medvedev’s was simply ok, as he edged No. 29 Sebastian Korda 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 and will face No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov.
Earlier within the day, Coco Gauff gave herself an early birthday current by beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6 (5) within the third spherical. Gauff, who turns 20 on Wednesday, struggled early however discovered a solution to maintain her serve by saving 10 of 11 break factors. She closed out the match with a serve into the physique that Bronzetti could not return. It prolonged Gauff’s successful streak within the United States to 18 matches, a run that features successful the title at final 12 months’s U.S. Open.
Bronzetti had an opportunity to drive a 3rd set when she took a 5-4 lead within the tiebreaker. Gauff gained the following three factors.
These days, Gauff is discovering methods to win when she would not essentially have all her photographs tuned in.
“The mentality is the reason why I’m playing and the reason why I’m being successful,” mentioned Gauff, who gained a doubles match with associate Jessica Pegula later Monday.
Gauff will face Elise Mertens within the spherical of 16. Mertens held off Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-4. Osaka performed within the fifth match of her return after her maternity go away in 2023.
Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka beat 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-5 to advance.
On the boys’s facet, No. 7 Holger Rune performed his first match of the match and beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 7-6 (5) to advance to the spherical of 16. Rune had a bye within the first spherical and superior via the second when Milos Raonic withdrew with an damage. He will face No. 12 Taylor Fritz, the 2022 champion.
Gael Monfils gained a three-set thriller over Cameron Norrie, the match’s 2021 winner, in a match that took greater than three hours.
