Novak Djokovic threatens to pull out of tournament after lucky loser made him ‘hot-headed’
Novak Djokovic hinted that he could withdraw from his next tournament after falling to a shock defeat at the hands of Luca Nardi at Indian Wells. Nardi, who is ranked outside the world’s top 120 and was initially knocked out in qualifying, was only given a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser to replace an injured player.
Djokovic was visibly frustrated during the match and took aim at the umpire following a controversial point, when Nardi was surprised by an ‘in’ call and casually hit the ball back over the net. The Serb levelled up by claiming the second set after losing the first but was unable to prevent Nardi from snatching the decider, finishing the job with an ace.
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic admitted that he was still ‘hot-headed’ and cast doubt over his participation at the Miami Open, which is set to begin later this month.
Quizzed on what his schedule will look like over the next few weeks, Djokovic replied: “Yeah, for the moment, Miami is there, so let’s see. Let’s see, obviously 10 minutes ago I was on the court, so I’m still hot-headed a bit. I need to take a day or two and then see what I want to do next.”
Djokovic was responsible for nine unforced errors during his defeat to Nardi, who produced a career-best display to claim a seismic upset victory. The 20-year-old will face Tommy Paul in the next round at Indian Wells as he looks to follow up by booking his place in the last eight of the tournament.
