Djokovic Upset by Nardi in Third Round of Tournament

Djokovic, seeded with the first number in the tournament, lost to the Italian Luca Nardi (ATP 123) 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 in the third round match.

The Serb played his first match since the Australian Open final, where he lost to fellow Italian Yannick Sinner. The world number one hadn’t taken the court for more than six weeks.

“He entered the main draw as a lucky loser and had nothing to lose, so he played great. He deserved to win. I was surprised by my level, which was very, very bad,” Djokovic said after the setback.

Nardi’s opponent in the round of 16 will be American Tommy Paul, who is ranked 17th in the ATP ranking and is seeded 17th in the tournament.

After the loss, Djokovic pointed out that playing fewer tournaments during the season meant he had to think more carefully about which ones he wanted to compete in, but the Serbian also plans to play at the ATP 1000 in Miami next week.