Indian Wells 2024: Novak Djokovic’s Slayer Touted as ‘Nicest’ and ‘Humblest’ by British ATP Pro

The number one seed, Novak Djokovic, has been stunned by his unseeded opponent, Luca Nardi, at the ongoing Indian Wells Masters. At the age of 20, the Italian tennis player recently pulled off an upset against the 24-time singles Grand Slam champion in the round of 32. Nardi’s phenomenal victory has now promoted his British colleague Liam Broady to issue some major assertions on social media.

In a three-set thriller, the 20-year-old overcame Djokovic with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, as he has now scored a place in the round of 16. After witnessing his on-court exploits against the current world No. 1 player, Broady couldn’t hold himself back from hailing Nardi as one of the ‘nicest’ and ‘humblest’ guys on the men’s tour.

The British tennis star recently tweeted, “One thing I will also say is that Luca Nardi is one of the nicest, humblest guys on tour! Happy for him and hope this is the start of a big career” The unseeded Italian, who’s had a poster of Djokovic on his bedroom door since he was 8, has beaten him at the BNP Paribas Open and has earned the laudits of many in the tennis community.

With his recent round-of-32 victory, the current number 123, Nardi, has also become the lowest-ranked player ever to defeat the Serbian tennis legend at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event. As he has pulled off a remarkable feat, the young ATP player was over the moon as he talked about his win in a post-match conversation.

Luca Nardi’s honest reaction after his brilliant win against one of the Big 3 at the Indian Wells Masters

After defeating the ‘Djoker,’ Nardi was quite overwhelmed with emotions as he talked about his spectacular round-of-32 victory. In his post-match on-court interview, the Italian said, “I think before this night no one knew me. I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. I’m super happy with this one.” 

Defeating the number one player at the age of 20 was nothing less than a miracle for Nardi, as he said, “I don’t know man. Really, I don’t know. I think this is a miracle. I’m a 20 year old guy ranked 100 in the world beating Novak. Crazy.” 

The young Italian player secured a spot in the main draw of the tournament after his back-to-back wins in the qualifying rounds as he defeated the likes of Terence Atmane and David Goffin. In his opening round match, Luca Nardi then brushed aside his Chinese opponent, Zhang Zhizhen, in a three-set game, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Nardi will now lock horns with 17th-seeded Tommy Paul, as both players of high caliber will be vying for a place in the quarterfinal round.

Do you think that the young Italian player can now mark a deep run at the BNP Paribas Open after his victory against Djokovic? Let us know in the comments section.

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