20YO Luca Nardi Nearly Breaks Down After Humbling Idol Novak Djokovic on an Emotional Indian Wells Night
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Italy’s rising star in tennis, Luca Nardi faced his dream-come-true moment after he defeated his role model and world’s number one ATP star, Novak Djokovic. Nardi had to exit from the qualifier round of the ongoing Indian Wells. However, someone from the tennis fraternity withdrew their name from the main draw, which brought Luca Nardi directly to the championship’s round three.
Nardi took full advantage of this entry and defeated the Serbian tennis legend. However, Nardi’s expression after his victory expressed the Italian tennis star’s unbelievable moment in his life. This was also because, at the age of twenty, he hardly imagined beating Djokovic in a prestigious tournament like Indian Wells. After this victory, Nardi seemed very emotional on the court.
Recently, the official X (formerly Twitter) profile of the Tennis Channel shared Nardi’s feelings post-victory. This Italian tennis prodigy seemed surprised and extremely happy about this recent achievement. He 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.”
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Nardi was further asked about how he kept his nerve straight after defeating the world’s number one. Nardi won the fans’ hearts with his humble response. 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.”
Luca Nardi after beating Novak Djokovic:
Luca: “I think before this night no one knew me. I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. I’m super happy with this one.”
“4 weeks ago you lost to the world #462. You’ve just beaten the world #1. How did you keep your nerve?”
Luca: “I… pic.twitter.com/E8pFDixrQA
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 12, 2024
Nevertheless, it felt like Luca Nardi didn’t expect this victory. Defeating Djokovic was surely a hell of an achievement for this rising star in tennis. Nardi concluded by saying- “I’m 100 in the world and beating Novak. Crazy. Just Crazy.”
"I'm 100 in the world and beating Novak. Crazy. Just Crazy."@bnpparibasopen pic.twitter.com/o923Os6tJF
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 12, 2024
However, Djokovic wasn’t pleased with the result. He engaged in an angry conversation with the umpire. But the umpire made no hindrance call and awarded the point to Luca Nardi.
“He got in as a ‘lucky loser’….didn’t have anything to lose” – Djokovic accepted to make “terrible unforced errors”
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In the third set of his match against Nardi, Djokovic tried to pull off a volley hit. However, the twenty-year-old Italian hit the ball resulting in a winner. Djokovic who was surprised by the move, spotted angry at the umpire. He said– “He literally stopped,” However, the umpire didn’t listen to him and offered a point to Nardi.
Djokovic after losing the match, admitted his faults. He accepted of making “some really terrible unforced errors.” “He got in as a ‘lucky loser’ to [the] 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.”
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He further added- “Just quite defensive tennis and not much on the ball in the third, and that’s it. 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.” Nevertheless, Nardi proved to be a winner that day.
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Luca Nardi’s feelings after defeating Novak Djokovic expressed the Italian’s humble and grounded mentality. It also showed fans Nardi’s happiness after beating his idol on the court.
Edited by:
Ananya Giri