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End of the Serb’s domination? Shocking stat goes viral after Novak Djokovic suffers embarrassing loss against World No.123 Luca Nardi
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Novak Djokovic returned to the Indian Wells Masters after five years away, but never dreamt his campaign would end in the third round. Following his shocking loss, his opponent Luca Nardi’s stats marking the end of the Serbian domination on Tour have gone viral on social media.

The 36-year-old won his first title in the California desert in 2008 just months after winning his first Grand Slam title in Australia. He then won in 2011 and followed it up with three consecutive Indian Wells titles from 2014-16. However, a new stat shows the Serbian has yet to win the BNP Paribas Open since he turned 28.

Also, the Serbian has yet to reach the quarterfinals of Indian Wells since winning it in 2016. He lost 4-6, 4-6 to Nick Kyrgios in the Round of 16 of the 2017 edition. He then lost to the Japanese, Taro Daniel in the second round the following year before losing to Phillip Kohlschreiber 4-6, 4-6 in the third round in 2019. This means the last time Djokovic got to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells was when he was 28.

Another mouthwatering stat proves that the last eight players to defeat Djokovic in a deciding set were all born in 2001, 2002, or 2003. Meanwhile, Nardi’s victory over the Serbian is historic because, at No. 123 in the ATP rankings, the Italian is the lowest-ranked player ever to defeat Djokovic at a Masters 1000 event.

Luca Nardi had earlier earned his first Top 50 win of his career after defeating World No. 50 Zhang Zhizhenn in the second round of Indian Wells. He will face Tommy Paul in the round of 16.

Novak Djokovic convinced he will win a title this season

Novak Djokovic is convinced that he will win a title despite heading into the middle of the third month without a crown to his name this season. The 36-year-old has always been known to win either in Australia or Dubai or any other tournaments in the past.

Djokovic said after exiting from Indian Wells:

I was starting the season of most of my career with either a Grand Slam or Dubai win or any other tournament. But it's fine, it's part of sport. You just have to accept it. Some you win, some you lose. Hopefully, I will win some more. I'll still keep going. I guess every trophy that eventually comes my way is going to be great. To break the negative cycle a little bit that I've had in the last three or four tournaments. Novak Djokovic said

Djokovic has featured in three tournaments this season: United Cup, Australian Open, and Indian Wells, but is yet to reach the finals of any of these tournaments. A shocking stat indeed from the Serb who has always begun the year with a title.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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