Novak Djokovic ‘under fire’ for comments to Luca Nardi after shocking Indian Wells defeat
Luca Nardi and Novak Djokovic after their match© PA Images
Novak Djokovic was gracious in defeat as he slumped to one of the worst results of his career at the Indian Wells Masters, but eagle-eyed social media users have suggested he made a strong point to Luca Nardi as they shook hands at the net.
Nardi, 20, booked a last-16 meeting with American Tommy Paul as he won 6-4 3-6 6-3, serving up one of the biggest shocks in recent tennis history.
Yet it was an incident during the second set that set tongues wagging after the match, with Djokovic making his feelings clear in a heated exchange with chair umpire Greg Allensworth.
Nardi clearly believed a Djokovic serve was out and his body language returning the ball suggested he was not expecting to be playing the point after the ball landed.
Yet the automatic line-calling system did not respond and Nardi ended up winning the point as he rushed to the net and found a way to direct the ball past Djokovic.
The Serbian then insisted the point should have been awarded to him as Nardi appeared to have stopped before he casually pushed the ball back over the net, with Djokovic arguing that was grounds for ‘hindrance’ to be called by the umpire.
“He literally stopped and it confused me completely,” said Djokovic as he addressed the umpire.
“I stopped as well. How can you not make that judgement? Are you blagging me or what?”
Allensworth insisted there was no call for him to get involved as he outlined the rules: “Just because he stands there and doesn’t continue to play, doesn’t mean it’s grounds for a hindrance.”
The incident was still on Djokovic’s mind as he fell to a defeat that few saw coming, as he had words with Nardi at the net.
While he congratulated his opponent after the match at the net, Djokovic was animated and is reported to have made this comment in Italian: “Non è giusto, peró bravo”.
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That referenced Nardi’s actions around the incident in question and translates to: “It’s not fair, but well done.”
Djokovic was pointing to the area of the court Nardi was in when he made the disputed return of serve as he made the comments.
The exchange has seen some X users accuse Djokovic of being ‘salty’ with his young rival, but Djokovic did show Nardi plenty of respect in his post-match press conference as the world No 123 became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic at ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level.
“Congrats to him for particularly in the third set playing some great, great tennis,” said Djokovic.
“I watched him play. I didn’t know much about him, but I watched him play, and I knew he possessed 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, so 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. Results as a negative outcome for me.
“I made some really terrible unforced errors. Just quite defensive tennis, and, you know, not much on the ball in the third, and that’s it. You know, he just stepped in and he used the time that he had.
“He was playing more free and more aggressive than I did, and going for his shots and that break on 3-2 in the third was enough.”
Nardi was understandably shell-shocked after is victory, as he suggested he was confused that he beat his idol.
“I don’t know I did it,” said Nardi. “I think it is a miracle because I am a 20-year-old guy, 100 in the world, and beating Novak. It’s crazy.”
Sealing his victory with his sixth ace, Nardi hit 16 winners in the final set against just two from the five-time Indian Wells champion.
