Djokovic criticized for his attitude towards his juniors

World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic shook his head and looked upset as he shook hands after losing to 20-year-old Luca Nardi at the Indian Wells Masters on March 12.

Video footage from the end of the match showed Djokovic seemingly recalling a controversial point that Nardi had scored in the second set. Nardi initially dropped the ball but then returned it and scored a winner. Djokovic told the umpire that his opponent had stopped the ball and asked for a replay, but was denied.

Djokovic and Nardi passed each other, as the score increased to 5-3 for Nardi in the third set. Photo: ESPN

The shot was controversial but not illegal. According to the referee, Nardi's pause for a few seconds did not mean the situation ended. Djokovic actually still rushed to the net to drop the ball and proactively stopped when he saw his opponent return the ball cross-court to score.

American tennis journalist Ricky Dimon, who was watching the Indian Wells Masters live in California, said Djokovic should not have been upset and brought up the play at the end of the match. "First, that point was not the reason Djokovic lost the match. Second, the umpire made the right call," Dimon wrote on X.

Only Nardi could hear what Djokovic said, but Nole's frowning face and constant head shaking left many fans disappointed. "Disgraceful actions by Djokovic. That 20-year-old did nothing wrong. Djokovic is having a hard time and looking for a way to blame," one account commented under Dimon's post.

Nardi is the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event. The Serb still had praise for his junior in the post-match press conference. He said: "Nardi played great, I played terrible. Those two things happened today that led to this result."

Nardi, who beat Djokovic, lost to home seed Tommy Paul 4-6, 3-6 in the fourth round. But the young Italian will enter the ATP top 100 for the first time when the rankings are updated next week.

Vy Anh

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