Top seed Novak Djokovic has been dumped out of the Indian Wells third round by world No123 Luca Nardi.

Nardi, 20, looked in disbelief as he closed out a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory with an ace.

The Italian earned a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser after being knocked out in qualifying, making the cut as a replacement for injured Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

And Serbian legend Djokovic says his opponent had nothing to lose in the match which gave him the upper hand but still acknowledged Nardi deserved the win.

The 24-time Major champion said: "He got in as a lucky loser to [the] main draw, so he really didn't have anything to lose. He played great.

"[He] deserved to win. I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad.

"No titles this year, that's not something I'm used to.

"I was starting the season most of my career with a Grand Slam win or, you know, Dubai win or any tournament.

"I guess every trophy that eventually comes my way is going to be great, obviously, to break the negative cycle a little bit I'm having in the last three, four tournaments where I haven't really been close to my best."

For Nardi, the win is a career highlight, with American favourite Tommy Paul up next in the last 16.

He added: "This is a miracle. I'm a 20-year-old guy, 100 in the world and beating Novak. So crazy, crazy.

"Before this night, no one knew me. I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. I'm super happy with this one."

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