Djokovic is eliminated in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open Ranked 123rd in the world

Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (No. 1, Serbia) was eliminated in the third round of the singles at the Men's Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour BNP Paribas Open (total prize money of $9,495,555).

Djokovic lost 1-2 (4-6 6-3 3-6) to Luca Nardi (123rd place, Italy) in the third round of singles on the 6th day of the tournament held in Indian Wells, California, USA on the 12th (Korean time).

Djokovic, who won the singles title a total of five times in this tournament, including three consecutive wins from 2014 to 2016, has had his dream of regaining the top spot in eight years come to nothing.

Djokovic returned to this tournament five years after being eliminated in the third round in 2019.

In 2020, the BNP Paribas Open was not held due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and Djokovic was unable to participate in this tournament for reasons such as not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Nardi, who defeated Djokovic that day, is a rookie born in 2003 and his highest ranking was 106th last month.

He was originally in a situation where he would not advance to the finals after losing in the preliminary finals of this tournament, but a spot became available due to the withdrawal of a player in the finals, so he participated in his place as 'Lucky Loser'.

In particular, Thomas Martin Echeverri (30th, Argentina), the 30th seed, withdrew, and was lucky enough to enter the bracket and pass the first round of the finals by default.

Djokovic has never lost to a player ranked 123rd or lower in the world in a major tournament or ATP 1000 series tournament such as the BNP Paribas Open.

The previous record for the lowest-ranked player Djokovic lost to in the four majors and the ATP 1000 series, which is held nine times a year, was Kevin Anderson (South Africa) at the 2008 Miami Open, who was ranked 122nd in the world at the time.

Nardi will face Tommy Paul (17th, USA) in the round of 16 사설토토