![](\"http:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/djokovic-stunned-by-lucky-loser-nardi-at-indian-wells.jpg\")
World number one\u00a0Novak\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0was stunned 6-4 3-6 6-3 by lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round of Indian Wells on Monday, a victory which the\u00a020-year-old Italian\u00a0described as a \u201cmiracle\u201d.<\/p>\nWorld number one\u00a0Novak\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0was stunned 6-4 3-6 6-3 by lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round of Indian Wells on Monday, a victory which the\u00a020-year-old Italian\u00a0described as a \u201cmiracle\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nardi, who grew up idolizing\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0and is ranked 123rd in the world, played the match of his life to defeat the Serbian, dropping his racket and putting his hands over his face after firing an ace out wide to seal the win.The defeat ends\u00a0Djokovic\u2018s bid for a record sixth title at the tournament in the California desert.\u201cThis is a miracle,\u201d said Nardi, who lost to David Goffin in qualifiers on Tuesday and only got into the main draw after Tomas Etcheverry withdrew due to injury.\u201cI\u2019m a 20-year-old guy, 100 in the world and I beat Novak. Crazy. Just crazy.\u201dNardi came out flying under the lights on centre court, drawing\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0to the net with a short ball and then rifling a forehand past him for an early break and a 3-2 lead.Djokovic\u00a0was well short of his best and a service return from the 24-times Grand Slam champion found the net to hand Nardi the first set.The top seed broke Nardi twice in the second set and held at love to level the contest but his opponent, who had a poster of\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0on his wall growing up, refused to back down.Nardi hit a backhand that\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0could not put back in play for a crucial break and a 4-2 advantage in the decider before pulling off the upset.Nardi will next face American Tommy Paul.Earlier, Gael\u00a0Monfils produced a stunning display of shot-making and showmanship to rally from a set and 3-0 down to beat former champion Cameron Norrie 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 to reach the last 16.The 37-year-old Frenchman electrified the crowd with his creativity to set up fourth round meeting with ninth seed Casper Ruud.Norrie, who won the tournament in 2021, piled up 60 unforced errors and could not solve the unpredictable Monfils puzzle in the three hour and 15 minute affair.\u201cI feel better and better, to be honest,\u201d said Monfils, who was sidelined with a wrist injury for part of last season.\u201cI\u2019ve been playing weeks after weeks, which has been a long time I am able to do that. I feel good. So far the body is holding, so I\u2019m happy with that.\u201dAmerican Taylor Fritz, the tournament\u2019s 2022 champion, breezed past Sebastian Baez 6-2 6-2 and Grigor Dimitrov\u2019s career renaissance got another big lift with a 6-3 6-3 win over France\u2019s Adrian Mannarino.Seventh seed Holger Rune beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 7-6(5) and 17th-seeded American Paul sailed past Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-4 in other\u00a0third-round\u00a0action.Follow the
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Novak Djokovic, the world number one, was defeated by Luca Nardi, a 20-year-old Italian ranked 123rd, with scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the third round of Indian Wells. Nardi, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser after Tomas Etcheverry withdrew due to injury, described his victory as a “miracle.” This defeat ended Djokovic’s attempt to win a record sixth title at the tournament. Nardi will face American Tommy Paul in the next round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[932,3,1167,499,250,1079,572,387,1502,185,1346,1501,1400,618,1503,18],"class_list":["post-3867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-court","tag-cyprus","tag-draw","tag-france","tag-google","tag-indian-wells","tag-injury","tag-lost","tag-luca-nardi","tag-main","tag-meeting","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-rally","tag-top","tag-upset","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n