Ben Shelton agrees with Novak Djokovic about the new tennis courts at Indian Wells

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Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic have had contrasting success at Indian Wells 2025, having both started out in the second round.

Shelton is into the third round after beating Mariano Navone, but Djokovic suffered a shock Indian Wells exit to Botic van de Zandschulp.

The American overcame his Argentine opponent 6-3 6-2, while the Serbian legend was defeated 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 by the Dutchman

Shocks have been a common theme in the early stages of Indian Wells this year, which has undergone a major court surface change.

For the first time in 25 years, Laykold is being used instead of Plexipave, with that switch following similar moves from the Miami Open and US Open.

Ben Shelton agrees with Novak Djokovic over bouncy Indian Wells courts

After his shock loss, Djokovic was frustrated by the high bounce of the balls, with Shelton then issuing a similar verdict following his win.

“They’re bouncy,” he said on court after his triumph, as quoted by The Tennis Letter. “I think my serve bounces up.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff’s former coach predicts how high Ben Shelton can reach in the world rankings after new career-best

“I get liveliness out of the ball even when it’s a bit colder at night. Conditions are different every week. You’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust. All the greats are able to do that.

“You just have to keep an open mind and put work in the practice court every day to try to get more acclimated. For me I got here early. I put in a lot of work the last seven days. Happy to see some of it pay off today.”

Ben Shelton hits 150mph serve in Indian Wells win

Unlike sixth seed Djokovic, 11th seed Shelton was seemingly able to use such a high bounce to his advantage.

The 22-year-old, who is currently 12th in the ATP Tour world rankings, fired a serve of 150mph against Navone, as captured by Tennis TV.

Van de Zandschulp knew Djokovic struggled with the bounce, with the Dutchman able to capitalise on that issue to pull off a famous win.

He now takes on 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo in the third round, with Shelton meeting 22nd seed Karen Khachanov.

READ MORE: Andy Roddick names the two ATP players who could really benefit from the Indian Wells court change and perform really well

Carlos Alcaraz meanwhile, currently chasing a third successive Indian Wells title, takes on 27th seed Denis Shapovalov.

Top seed Alexander Zverev has already fallen, while world number one Jannik Sinner is absent due to his three-month ban.