Watch: Novak Djokovic engages in heated dispute with chair umpire, argues for hindrance call against Luca Nardi during shock Indian Wells 3R loss
Novak Djokovic engaged in a heated confrontation with the chair umpire over Luca Nardi not receiving a hindrance call during their third-round clash at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters.
Nardi delivered a strong performance against Djokovic in the opening set, winning 6-2. The Serb rallied in the second set, breaking the Italian's serve to take a 2-0 lead. However, Nardi broke back immediately, with controversy erupting on his break point.
Believing the World No. 1's serve to have landed out, Nardi played a weak return and seemingly stopped before chasing down the shot struck by the Serb and converting the break point to win the game.
Novak Djokovic, who also stopped in response to the Italian's hesitance, was left bewildered by the bizarre turn of events.
He approached the chair umpire with his grievance, but the umpire pointed out that the Italian's hesitance hadn't stopped the point from being completed.
"He stopped. He stopped," the Serb said.
"He didn't make a call. He didn't actually stop the point," the chair umpire responded. "Just because he's stopped doesn't mean the point stopped."
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion argued that he was left "completely confused" by the 20-year-old's actions and urged the umpire to deliver a hindrance call against the Italian.
"Just because he stopped doesn't mean the point stopped? What are you talking about? He literally stopped, and that's it, and he confused me completely because I stopped as well. How can you not make that judgement?" he said.
"Are you wanting me to call a hindrance?" the umpire asked.
"Of course," Djokovic responded.
The chair umpire stood firm in his decision, leaving the Serb visibly frustrated as he walked to his bench.
"Just because he stands there and doesn't continue the play, that's not grounds for a hindrance. If he was to come up saying 'out' or pointing 'out' or something along those lines, then yes I would agree with you 100%.
"But since he didn't do anything to actually stop the point," the umpire said.
Here's the video of the interaction:
Despite the controversy, Novak Djokovic dominated the second set, winning 6-3 to force a decider. However, Luca Nardi displayed his resilience to claim a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over the World No. 1, securing the biggest win of his career.
After beating Novak Djokovic, Luca Nardi to take on Tommy Paul in Indian Wells 4R
With his triumph, Luca Nardi thwarted Novak Djokovic's bid to break a tie with Roger Federer (5) for most Indian Wells titles.
After pulling off the massive upset, the Italian next takes on Tommy Paul in the fourth round. Paul claimed a dominant 6-4, 6-4 win over Ugo Humbert to advance to the Round of 16.
If Nardi beats Paul, he will take on the winner of the match between Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals.