Novak Djokovic Makes Unwanted History with Loss to Van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells

Botic van de Zandschulp has made it to the third round of Indian Wells after beating Novak Djokovic who set an unwanted record with the latest loss.

Ranked 85th in the world, Van de Zandschulp had to play in the qualifying rounds as the third seed. After losing in the final qualifying round to Matteo Gigante, it seemed his time at Indian Wells was over.

However, after Facundo Diaz Acosta withdrew, Van de Zandschulp got a second chance as a “lucky loser.”

Van de Zandschulp took full advantage of this opportunity, first beating Nick Kyrgios in the first round, and then shocking Novak Djokovic in three sets.

This loss means that Djokovic has now been beaten by a “lucky loser” at Indian Wells in two consecutive years. Last year, he lost to Luca Nardi. This makes Djokovic the first top 10 player in tennis history to lose to lucky losers in back-to-back years at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

Djokovic is also known to have previously lost to a lucky loser at the 2020 Vienna Open, when he was defeated by Lorenzo Sonego.

Van de Zandschulp’s win against Djokovic comes after his victory over Rafael Nadal in Nadal’s final match last year.

After his defeat, Djokovic reflected on his performance, admitting to making “awful mistakes” and hitting 37 unforced errors. He said, “The first few games of the third set were close. I had my chances but made some awful mistakes. When I think about the match, I’ll see more things I could have done better.”

This loss marks Djokovic’s third straight defeat, following his retirement against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is now preparing for the Miami Open, where he will be joined by his coach, Andy Murray.