Novak Djokovic lost his opening match in Indian Wells (Image: Getty)
With 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks at No. 1 under his belt, Novak Djokovic has an immediate advantage against his opponents whenever he takes to the court. As one of the sport’s greatest players, Djokovic has an intimidation factor like no one else.
However, the current world No. 7 is starting to lose his locker room aura after a string of disappointing losses. Djokovic was dumped out in his opening match in Indian Wells on Saturday, suffering a 6-2 3-6 6-1 defeat to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp. Afterwards, Van de Zandschulp admitted it was easy to have “confidence” going into the match.
Djokovic has had a disappointing season so far, starting when he lost to then-world No. 293 Reilly Opelka in the Brisbane International. The Serb turned things around at the Australian Open, reaching the semi-final and beating Carlos Alcaraz, but an injury forced him to retire mid-match.
When he returned in Doha, the 37-year-old crashed out in the first round. And his losing streak continued in Indian Wells, where he looked a shadow of his usual self during his defeat to Van de Zandschulp.
It’s the second year in a row that Djokovic has lost to a lucky loser at the Californian Masters 1000 event. The world No. 7 has failed to make it beyond the quarter-final in Indian Wells since 2016, and he hasn’t lifted any titles since the Olympics last summer.
And the surprise defeats aren’t doing anything to help his locker room aura, as Van de Zandschulp confessed that his opponent’s recent early exits were on his mind going into their match.
Lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp stunned Novak Djokovic (Image: Getty)
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“Yeah, of course you see there are possibilities. I’m not really thinking about that he didn’t win a tournament since the Olympics. Yeah, the last time I won a tournament, I have to go way back,” he laughed.
“Didn’t really think about it. But, yeah, still helps you, like, also you saw him in Doha he lost to Berrettini. Yeah, Australia he retired during the match.”
While Djokovic will always be a tough opponent, the Dutchman explained that he got a boost seeing the Serb’s recent results.
He added: “But I still believe he’s one of the best players there is now on the tour. It’s never easy to face him.
“Yeah, it gives you also a little bit confidence if he lose some matches here and there. So yeah.”
After losing to Van de Zandschulp on Saturday, Djokovic also confessed that the last couple of years hadn’t been ideal.
“You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level,” he explained.
“Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but, you know, mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.
“So it is what it is. You know, I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way.”
Djokovic is signed up to compete in the Miami Open later this month. However, following his latest defeat, he said he needed to reassess his plans with Andy Murray and the rest of his team.
