Novak Djokovic has continued his struggles into Indian Wells, having lost his opener to Botic van de Zandschulp.
Djokovic played his 500th ATP Masters 1000 match, but failed to make it beyond lucky loser Van de Zandschulp.
Van de Zandschulp thinks Djokovic struggled with the bounces, with Indian Wells having changed its surface for this year’s tournament.
In line with the upcoming Miami Open and the US Open, the hard-court event has switched from Plexipave to Laykold.
Handed a bye in round one in California, sixth seed Djokovic was beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 by world number 85 Van de Zandschulp.
Novak Djokovic loses three matches in a row for first time in seven years
The Serbian was playing just his second singles match since losing to Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
He fell to Matteo Berrettini in the Qatar Open round of 32 after that run in Melbourne, and has now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2018.
Novak Djokovic outclassed by Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells
Much of the post-match discussion will focus on the struggles of Djokovic, who will be disappointed with his showing at Indian Wells.
He is joined by Roger Federer with a record five titles at the event, but simply failed to really get going this time around, losing after just over two hours.
Van de Zandschulp does, however, deserve huge credit for his display, with the Netherlands ace continuing his trend of upsetting major names.
He knocked Carlos Alcaraz out of the US Open last year, as well as upsetting Rafael Nadal in his farewell from tennis at the Davis Cup.
Having beaten Grand Slam finalist Nick Kyrgios in round one, another upset is possible when he takes on 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo in round three.
| Novak Djokovic | Service stats | Botic van de Zandschulp |
| 217 | Serve rating | 285 |
| 0 | Aces | 4 |
| 3 | Double faults | 4 |
| 49/73 (67%) | 1st serve | 58/82 (71%) |
| 31/49 (63%) | 1st serve points won | 35/58 (60%) |
| 7/24 (29%) | 2nd serve points won | 17/24 (71%) |
| 3/8 (38%) | Break points saved | 2/4 (50%) |
| 12 | Service games played | 12 |
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
