INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — 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 on Monday evening 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 virtually in disbelief earlier than greeting Djokovic on the web.
“This can be a miracle,” Nardi stated in an interview after the match on the Tennis Channel. “I’m a 20-years-old man, 100 on the planet, and beating Novak. So, loopy. Loopy.”
Setting the tone early together with his hard-hitting photographs, Nardi pissed off 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 suppose, Nardi was practically on his method dwelling. He acquired into the sector as a “fortunate loser,” which is a participant who came across the ultimate hurdle in qualifying however made it into the principle 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 by the opening spherical.
He went on to change into 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.
Utilizing 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 instances in a combination of shock and shock.
Nardi was removed from intimidated, both, answering Djokovic’s well-placed photographs with well-placed returns of his personal.
“Earlier than this evening, nobody knew me,” stated Nardi, who will face American Tommy Paul within the spherical of 16. “I hope now the gang loved the sport. I’m tremendous pleased with this one.”
Djokovic actually didn’t know that a lot about Nardi, solely what he gleaned watching him play. He knew Nardi had a robust baseline sport, particularly with the forehand, and moved properly.
“He acquired in as a ‘fortunate loser’ to (the) predominant draw, so he actually didn’t have something to lose. So he performed nice,” Djokovic stated. “Deserved to win. I used to be extra stunned with my stage. My stage was actually, actually dangerous.”
No. 4 Daniil Medvedev’s was simply ok, as he edged No. 29 Sebastian Korda 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 and can 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 couldn’t return. It prolonged Gauff’s profitable streak in the US to 18 matches, a run that features profitable the title ultimately yr’s U.S. Open.
Bronzetti had an opportunity to pressure a 3rd set when she took a 5-4 lead within the tiebreaker. Gauff received the following three factors.
Lately, Gauff is discovering methods to win when she doesn’t essentially have all her photographs tuned in.
“The mentality is the rationale why I’m enjoying and the rationale why I’m being profitable,” stated Gauff, who received a doubles match with accomplice 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 event 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 aspect, No. 7 Holger Rune performed his first match of the event 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 by the second when Milos Raonic withdrew with an damage. He’ll face No. 12 Taylor Fritz, the 2022 champion.
Gael Monfils received a three-set thriller over Cameron Norrie, the event’s 2021 winner, in a match that took greater than three hours.
