“Before this night no-one knew me” – world No 123 Luca Nardi after defeating Novak Djokovic
March 13, 2024

Italian tennis professional Luca Nardi was not supposed to be playing at this month’s ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters tournament. Ranked No 123 in the men’s ATP world rankings, Nardi had been beaten by Belgium’s David Goffin in the final round of qualifying matches, but a late withdrawal offered him a place in the main draw.
The 20-year-old Nardi met World No 1 Djokovic on Court 1 in the Round of 32, with the Serbian on a run of 11 matches undefeated at Masters events. With the match level at 6-4, 3-6, Nardi broke Djokovic in the deciding set to take a 4-2 lead, then held his nerve to win match point with an ace to take the final set 6-3, for the biggest win of his young career.
“He deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. That’s it, these two things come together — he’s having a great day, I’m having a really bad day,” conceded Djokovic after the match.
“He got in as a lucky loser to the main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose,” added Djokovic. However, aside from beating the world No 1, Nardi also had the opportunity to play against the man who has been his tennis idol from the age of eight and whose posters hung on his walls growing up.
“Before this night no-one knew me,” Nardi laughed after his famous victory. “I hope the crowd enjoyed the game; I’m super happy with this one. I think it really is a miracle. I’m a guy ranked outside the top 100 in the world and now I’m beating Novak — crazy, crazy.”
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“Before this night no-one knew me” – world No 123 Luca Nardi after defeating Novak Djokovic

Italian tennis professional Luca Nardi was not supposed to be playing at this month’s ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters tournament. Ranked No 123 in the men’s ATP world rankings, Nardi had been beaten by Belgium’s David Goffin in the final round of qualifying matches, but a late withdrawal offered him a place in the main draw.
The 20-year-old Nardi met World No 1 Djokovic on Court 1 in the Round of 32, with the Serbian on a run of 11 matches undefeated at Masters events. With the match level at 6-4, 3-6, Nardi broke Djokovic in the deciding set to take a 4-2 lead, then held his nerve to win match point with an ace to take the final set 6-3, for the biggest win of his young career.
“He deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. That’s it, these two things come together — he’s having a great day, I’m having a really bad day,” conceded Djokovic after the match.
“He got in as a lucky loser to the main draw, so he really didn’t have anything to lose,” added Djokovic. However, aside from beating the world No 1, Nardi also had the opportunity to play against the man who has been his tennis idol from the age of eight and whose posters hung on his walls growing up.
“Before this night no-one knew me,” Nardi laughed after his famous victory. “I hope the crowd enjoyed the game; I’m super happy with this one. I think it really is a miracle. I’m a guy ranked outside the top 100 in the world and now I’m beating Novak — crazy, crazy.”