Luca Nardi, the Italian tennis player ranked 123rd in the world, has made history. In the round of 32 at Indian Wells, an ATP 1000 tournament, he defeated none other than Novak Djokovic, with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It was a real feat, considering that it had been since 2008 that the Serbian, world number 1, had not lost against a player outside the top 100.
Nardi: «Speechless, Djokovic is my idol. I have his photo in my room...»
«I am speechless," said Nardi, "I have a photo of Novak in my room. Djokovic is my legend. Until tonight, nobody knew me. Sinner? He pushed me a lot in training, I did not expect to win.
The 20-year-old from Pesaro, after this ATP 1000, will enter the top 100: with the move to the round of 16, he has already secured at least the 96th place. Luca Nardi had actually been eliminated from the tournament in the qualifiers, defeated by Goffin. He re-entered as a "lucky loser" in the spot in the draw left vacant by Tomás Martín Etcheverry, a seeded player of the tournament, who withdrew after a calf injury. He will play in the round of 16 against Tommy Paul, world number 13. But after such a feat, dreaming is more justified than ever.
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