Novak Djokovic stunned in Indian Wells by lucky loser
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Indian Wells Open in California on Saturday, losing his opening match 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp.
It is the second year in a row that Djokovic has exited the ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the hands of a lucky loser and marks yet another early defeat for the former world No.1 who has not won a title since the Paris Olympics.
Djokovic came into the match as a $1.07 favourite across leading tennis bookmakers to beat the No.85-ranked Dutchman.
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However, he struggled with the high-bouncing, windy conditions and also appeared not to be at his best physically as he sprayed 37 unforced errors to just 15 winners over the course of the two-hour, two-minute match.
“It’s always something happening, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Djokovic said afterwards.
“I mean, obviously no excuses for a poor performance.
“Just it doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court, but congratulations to my opponent.
“You know, just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.
“I regret the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days.
“To be honest, the difference between the center court and the other courts is immense. Ball is bouncing on the center courts higher than some of the highest clay courts.
“Just struggled a lot with that. Couldn’t find the rhythm.”
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Djokovic had been on the second line of betting to win the tournament at BetOnline, paying $7.50 behind Carlos Alcaraz ($3).
Alcaraz is now a $2.20 favourite to claim the title for the third year in a row, with the Spaniard advancing 6-4, 6-2 against Frenchman Quentin Halys earlier in the day.
His closest competition in outright tennis betting is now Daniil Medvedev ($8), after top seed Alexander Zverev also crashed out in his opening match, losing 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) to Tallon Griekspoor.
