Novak Djokovic's Indian Wells loss to Luca Nardi draws attention to worrying trend of Serb's recent struggles against youngsters
Novak Djokovic suffered his most shocking defeat in recent years against World No. 123 Luca Nardi at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters. This loss continues the Serb's trend of losing to opponents from the younger generation over the last year.
Djokovic took his career to new heights with Grand Slam singles titles in Melbourne, Paris, and New York and an enormous lead at the World No. 1 spot at the end of 2023. He was expected to continue his excellent form in 2024, if not match his accolades from last year. But that has not been the case.
The 36-year-old lost his first match at the Australian Open since 2018 against Italian sensation and eventual winner Jannik Sinner in January. And now, in his second tournament of the year at the BNP Paribas Open, he lost to another player of the next-gen in the form of Luca Nardi.
While Djokovic was unassailable last year and seemed to win every tournament he entered, a fault line persisted throughout the season, i.e., the players of the younger generation. Five of his seven losses in 2023 came against players aged 22 and below. This trend has continued in 2024 as well, with Sinner, 22, and Nardi, 20.
The list of youngsters who bettered Djokovic in 2023 includes Lorenzo Musetti, 22, at the Monte Carlos Masters; Holger Rune, 20, at the Italian Open; Carlos Alcaraz, 20, at the Wimbledon Championships, and Sinner at the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup.
It's not like the 24-time Grand Slam champion has not been able to defeat these youngsters over the last year. He downed Alcaraz in the French Open semifinals and Western & Southern Open final, Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals, and Rune in the Paris Masters quarterfinals. In fact, he defeated all three of these players en route to the title at the 2023 ATP Finals.
However, at times when it seems that the Serb cannot be outfoxed on the tennis court, these young generation talents seem to get the better of the veteran.
"No titles this year, that’s not something I’m used to" - Novak Djokovic after loss at Indian Wells Masters
Novak Djokovic has had a quiet start to his 2024 season. He began the year at the United Cup, representing Serbia. He registered wins against China's Zhang Zhizhen and Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka in the group stage before losing to Australia's Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal.
He then went directly into the 2024 Australian Open, where his title defense ended in the semifinal. The Belgrade native again took a long break and played at the Indian Wells Masters, where he lost in the third round.
Even though he only played two tournaments, Djokovic was surprised by his trophy drought in 2024. During his press conference at the Indian Wells, the Serb said that he was used to seeing some silverware in his trophy cabinet by this time every year, and not doing so in 2024 was unusual for him.
He specifically mentioned the Dubai Tennis Championships as one of the tournaments where he had enormous success. The World No. 1 skipped the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships, where he is a five-time champion.
"I could have done everything different. I mean, as I said, very poor performance from my side. Yeah, no titles this year. That's not something I'm used to. I was starting the season most of my career with a Grand Slam win or, you know, Dubai win, or any or tournament. It's fine. You know, it's part of the sport. You just have to accept it," he said in his post-match press conference.