The Italians “take the hand” of Djokovic, the number 123 in the world eliminates the Serbian from Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic’s weight in the world of tennis cannot be disputed, but the world number 1 seems to have a weak point and his Italian rivals have learned this best.
After Jannik Sinner defeated him in the semi-finals of the Australian Open to claim the trophy by defeating the Russian Dmitry Medvedev in the final, another Italian has stopped the Serbian champion.
Luca Nardi, world number 123, defeated the number 1 in the ATP 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, in three sets with the score 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
The 20-year-old thus passed the 1/16 stage of the tournament taking place in California, but immediately after the winning point he threw his racket on the ground and raised his hands to his face in disbelief at what he managed to do in front of Djokovic.
“This is a miracle. I’m a 20-year-old guy, about 100 in the world, and I beat Novak. It’s crazy, crazy,” Nardi later said in an interview with the Tennis Channel.
“Before today’s victory, nobody knew me. I hope the crowd enjoyed the match. I am very happy with this result”, added the talented Italian.
Djokovic, despite losing, was supportive of the 20-year-old who eliminated him, saying: “Nardi came into this match as a ‘lucky loser’, so he had nothing to lose. So he played brilliantly. He deserved to win. I was more surprised by my level. The level was really, really bad.”
The tennis player from Marche thus becomes the lowest-ranked player to ever beat Nole in a tournament of this category or in a Slam (a record which until now belonged to South African Kevin Anderson, number 122 when he won in Miami in 2008 ).
👁️[WPPV-TOTAL-VIEWS]
