Luca Nardi is a lucky loser at the BNP Paribas Open. The 20-year-old’s luck seemed to run out when he drew world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Instead, a match against Djokovic became the highlight of Nardi’s tennis career–and really his entire life.
The Italian, who has a poster of Djokovic hanging in his bedroom, shocked the 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters on Monday night. Nardi pulled off the stunning upset in two hours and 20 minutes.
“Amazing feeling,” he assured. “I couldn’t even imagine to play a match against him, and now I also beat him. So it’s such a dream come true for me…. Incredible. Against Djokovic…he’s the best player ever. So I think that I will keep this moment for me for the rest of my life. For sure.”
It’s a moment nobody could have seen coming–especially after Nardi lost to David Goffin in Indian Wells qualifying. However, No. 30 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry withdrew a few days later. Thanks to Etcheverry’s exit, Nardi not only got into the main draw but also snagged a bye straight to the second round.
The rest is history.
“I would say you are crazy,” the world No. 123 responded when asked what he would have thought if someone had told him after losing in qualifying that this would happen. “No one could imagine it. I was like (the) third lucky loser. It was something (that) surprised me when I got in. I never beat (a) top-50 (player). I also beat (Zhizhen) Zhang in the first round. Now Djokovic. I don’t know what to say about it. For sure I would say to him that he’s crazy, yeah.”
As for Djokovic, he was playing in the desert for the first time since 2019. His return to this tournament began in listless fashion with a three-set win over Aleksandar Vukic in round two and only got worse against Nardi.
“Congrats to him for particularly in the third set playing some great, great tennis,” the 36-year-old said to begin his press conference. “I watched him play. I didn’t know much about him, but I watched him play and I knew he possesses great quality tennis from the baseline–especially the forehand side. Moves well. Very talented. He got in as a Lucky Loser to main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose. He played great; deserved to win.
“I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. That’s it, you know. These two things come together. He’s having a great day; I’m having a really bad day. (It) results as a negative outcome for me.”
Indian Wells marked Djokovic’s second appearance of the season. He sometimes turns up in Dubai but skipped that event this year after losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals.
“Yeah, (I have) no titles this year,” the Serb noted. “That’s not something I’m used to–I was starting the season most of my career with a Grand Slam win or Dubai win, or any tournament. It’s fine. You know, it’s part of the sport. You just have to accept it. Some you win; some you lose. Hopefully I’ll win some more and still keep going.”
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