Novak Djokovic’s difficult start to the season continued on the North American hard courts as he crashed out of Indian Wells with an extremely poor performance in his opening match, losing 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the second round to the world No 85, Botic van de Zandschulp.
Despite producing arguably the best performance of the year in his four-set victory over Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Djokovic has now lost three consecutive matches since that triumph. The thigh injury Djokovic suffered during his win over Alcaraz forced him to retire from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev and then he fell in the first round of the Qatar Open last month to Matteo Berrettini.
As an increasingly dejected Andy Murray looked on from his player box, Djokovic’s lack of match practice was clear throughout a dire opening set, which included an extended period where he even struggled to win points. The Dutchman consolidated his early lead by winning 18 of 19 points in the middle of the set. While Van de Zandschulp served well and remained extremely consistent and focused, Djokovic’s unforced errors piled up.
Djokovic initially responded well to the adversity and, as he began to find his range and composure, he rolled through the second set to establish a 5-1 lead. Still, even as he forced a final set, Djokovic’s focus and general level were unconvincing. His first attempt to serve out the set ended with him conceding the service game.
In the final set, it was Van de Zandschulp who made the first move, landing ample returns and drawing errors from Djokovic with his movement and consistency. Where Djokovic, a five-time Indian Wells champion, would usually be able to find another gear under pressure and navigate a path to victory, this time he had absolutely nothing to give against an inspired opponent as he was quickly brushed aside.
Van de Zandschulp had fallen in straight sets to the No 217, Matteo Gigante, in the final qualifying round before entering the main draw as a lucky loser. Djokovic is the first top 10 player to lose to a lucky loser in consecutive years at an ATP Masters event after he was defeated by Luca Nardi last year. Van de Zandschulp is also the third lucky loser to beat Djokovic in his career.
“Congratulations to my opponent. It was just a bad day in the office, I guess,” said Djokovic afterwards. “Things are obviously different for me in the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have a couple [of] good tournaments, but mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.”
Earlier on Saturday, Jack Draper opened his Indian Wells tournament with a stellar performance against João Fonseca, neutralising the Brazilian’s awesome shot-making to reach the third round with an assured 6-4, 6-0 win.
Draper, the 13th seed, entered the court aware that he had been dealt one of the toughest draws among the seeded players. At just 18 years old, Fonseca has been a breakout star this year and after a gritty three-set win over another Briton, Jacob Fearnley, he entered the second round dialled in as Draper tried to find his feet after receiving a first-round bye.
Fonseca has already established himself as one of the most destructive shotmakers in the game but Draper effectively neutralised the Brazilian in the opening set with his defence, drawing out unforced errors from Fonseca with his retrieval skills while also flipping countless points from defence to attack.
With the opening set secured, Draper relaxed and produced one of his best sets of the year so far to close out an excellent win.
The British player has enjoyed an unusual start to the season as he tries to consolidate his position at the top of the sport after his breakthrough season last year.
Indian Wells marks just his third tournament of the season due to his hip injury. With so little rhythm, the 23-year-old has not always been able to summon his best offensive tennis, but he has fought brilliantly and shown his toughness by continually finding ways to win. His victory against Fonseca suggested that he is beginning to regain his rhythm.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I had a few problems at the back end of last year and early on this year. It was a tough one because when I did play last year, I gained consistency. I lost a few first and second rounds, so I was able to train and go again. Whereas at the start of this year, I played a lot of marathon matches this year and then in Doha, I played another five matches at the highest level. I’m getting there but it has been important just to get it right at the start of the season.”
Draper will next face the American Jenson Brooksby, who pulled off an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win over Felix Auger Aliassime, the Canadian 17th seed.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz began his title defence with a commanding performance, easing past Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round.
In the women’s tournament, Sonay Kartal made the most of her good fortune in California as she produced the best performance of her career to reach the third round as a lucky loser with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the 16th seed, Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil.
On Monday, it appeared that the British No 3 had just fallen short of the main draw after losing a tight three-set match to the world No 259, Clervie Ngounoue. Instead, Kartal was eventually moved into the main draw as a lucky loser after Sloane Stephens’ injury withdrawal. She has played with total freedom ever since.
Kartal’s victory over Haddad Maia marks the first top-30 win of her career. Already up to a new career high ranking around No 70 this week from her current ranking of No 83, Kartal will face Polina Kudermetova of Russia for a spot in the fourth round.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated home hopeful McCartney Kessler 7-6 (4), 6-3 in just over 90 minutes. “It felt like a Grand Slam final, the atmosphere ... it was so much fun,” Sabalenka said. “She’s playing incredible tennis, such a tough opponent … I’m really super happy that I was able to manage all the emotions and get this tough win.”
The third seed, Coco Gauff, needed three sets to defeat Moyuka Uchijima of Japan 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4), while Belinda Bencic defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1.
