Five-time Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic will compete at the season's first Masters 1000 event in March. The organizers confirmed Djokovic's second consecutiveparticipation in the desert after missing the tournament between 2020 and 2023.
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Novak is 51-10 in Indian Wells, lifting five trophies between 2008 and 2016. The legend conquered three titles in a row before losing pace, scoring only four wins in the previous eight Indian Wells encounters. Djokovic will try to fix that in a couple of weeks.
The veteran injured his left leg in Melbourne at the start of the season. He returned to action in Doha and fell to Matteo Berrettini in the first round.
Novak left Doha limping, but he should be fine forhis next challenge. Djokovic will seek his 41st Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells and the milestone 100th ATP title. As we already said, the legend had struggled in the desert between 2017 and 2019.
He took a break from the season's first Masters 1000 event and returned last season for the first time in half a decade. Novak faced Aleksandar Vukic in the second round and prevailed 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to notch his 400th Masters 1000 victory!
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The Serb did not play at his best but it was enough to overcomethe first obstacle. However, he could not get over the second! World no. 123 Luca Nardi stunned the five-time winner 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, extending Djokovic's poor run in the desert.
Novak required a stomach pill. He took the second set but failed to use that momentum in the decider against an inspired youngster. The Serb took one point more, but the Italian grabbed the crucial ones. Luca lost serve two times and stole his idol's serve three times from 11 chances.
Nardi played bold tennis and landed 36 winners and 41 unforced errors. He left Djokovic on 18 direct points and outplayed him in the more advanced exchanges. In a couple of weeks, Novak will try to embrace his first deep Indian Wells run since 2016.
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The veteran is eager to raise his form and fight for notable titles this season after conquering the Olympic Games in August last year.
