"Do we think Luca Nardi has got tactics from Jannik Sinner?" - Liam Broady after Italian's shock win over Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells 3R
British tennis player Liam Broady has questioned if Luca Nardi has borrowed some of his tactics from Jannik Sinner after the 20-year-old's shock win over Novak Djokovic at the Indian Wells Masters.
Nardi, who entered the competition as a lucky loser and is ranked 123rd in the world, beat Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the third round in Indian Wells. He hit 34 winners compared to the Serb's 17 and won 37% of his return points — the same as his opponent.
After the match, Broady asked if Nardi took a few tricks from his compatriot Sinner's books and tweeted:
"Do we think Nardi has got tactics from Sinner? He seems to be playing Novaks [sic.] backhand more than I can remember anybody doing that? And body backhand first serve A LOT on the deuce side [right side of the court]"
Sinner seems to have had Djokovic's number in recent months and it is no secret that the powerful two-handed backhand is one of the Italian's most potent weapons. The 22-year-old has beaten the World No. 1 thrice in their last four meetings — all on hard courts.
This includes Sinner's memorable four-set win against Djokovic in the 2024 Australian Open semifinals, after which he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the summit clash to win his first Grand Slam title.
Luca Nardi says he 'looks up to Jannik Sinner' after win vs Novak Djokovic
Luca Nardi has said he looks up to compatriot Jannik Sinner and 'always tries to learn' from the latter.
After his win against Novak Djokovic in the Californian desert, Nardi talked about having the chance to practice with current World No. 3 'many times' and told reporters (via Indian Wells Press):
"...As all the Italian players, I look up to Jannik for what he's doing. I had the chance to practice with him many times. I always try to learn from him, because he's a very nice guy, hard worker, and it's very nice what he's doing for Italy, for our country, for tennis in Italy, because now tennis is getting also more popular..."
Nardi's next assignment is a fourth-round match against World No. 17 Tommy Paul, who beat Ugo Humbert in straight sets in his third-round match. The winner of this match will play either Casper Ruud or Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals.
Sinner, meanwhile, has the task of facing big-serving left-hander Ben Shelton in his last-16 encounter, with former World No. 23 Jiri Lehecka waiting for either of them in the quarterfinals.