Heading into this week, 20-year-old Luca Nardi of Italy was the 123rd-ranked tennis player in the world. He had won only four singles matches on the ATP Tour in his career. He had never even made the main draw of a Grand Slam, and his bid to do so this year at Indian Wells, known as “The Fifth Slam,” had just fallen short: he was eliminated in qualifiers.
But then something strange happened. One player pulled out of the Indian Wells main draw, promoting the first alternate, known in tennis as a “lucky loser” into the field. Then another withdrew. And another. Nardi was third in line for a spot, and against all odds, Nardi made it into the tournament himself as a lucky loser.
His prize after a first round upset of No. 50 Zhang Zhizhen? Nardi had a match against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Compare Djokovic’s career stats to Nardi’s: Djokovic has won 1,095 single matches on the ATP Tour, 23 Grand Slams, and five Indian Wells titles. He has spent over 400 weeks ranked No. 1. Djokovic has been so good for so long that Nardi literally had a Djokovic poster hanging on the wall of his childhood bedroom. In fact, it’s still hanging there today when he goes to visit home. “Every time I go to sleep,” Nardi said, “I see Novak.”
In other words, few expected much from No. 123 in the world against No. 1.
Then the game started. Nardi relied on his serve, swinging hard and free and knocking home aces at key points. Nardi took the first set 6-4, and the crowd started to believe. LU-CA! LU-CA! they chanted.
In the second set, it appeared as if Djokovic would restore order, as he broke Nardi and cruised to a 6-3 victory himself. But in the deciding third set, Nardi refused to back down. Djokovic hadn’t played at Indian Wells since 2019 and at 37 was looking to extend the history he had made there. At one point, over the course of three years, he had gone 20 straight matches in the tournament without losing. Djokovic had made the pilgrimage to the California desert this spring to play for his legacy, and yet one of the most powerful positions in sport is to be able to play freely, with a clear mind and light load. As Djokovic said of Nardi after the match, “he really didn’t have anything to lose.”
On match point, Nardi launched an ace past Djokovic. Game, set, match. It was one of the biggest upsets of Djokovic’s career.
Nardi stood on the court afterwards and was asked how he felt. He looked at the crowd and smiled. “I’m speechless,” Nardi said. “What can I say? Yesterday night, I was dreaming about it, I was speaking with the coaches and dreaming about it—now it’s real.”
“This,” Nardi said, “is a miracle.”
🎸 Yesterday, our upcoming Hulu series Thank You, Goodnight premiered at SXSW and will be available everywhere April 26. Watch the trailer here.
🏀 The junior college South Carolina Salkehatchie had gone through four coaches in eight months and didn’t even have running water in its locker room when Matt Lynch, 33, took the job last year. Lynch is one of the first openly gay coaches in men’s college sports—and yesterday, “Salk” upset the 2-seed in its conference tournament to advance to the semifinals.
⛹️♀️ In Minneapolis, a pediatric surgeon penned a letter to Caitlin Clark to say thank you for bringing him closer to his daughter. It doesn’t get much more “Religion of Sports” than this. A must read.
🏎️ The writer Kate Wagner went “Behind F1’s Velvet Curtain” in this sizzling story that caused a bit of scandal itself after Road & Track pulled it from its website. But thankfully, the fine folks at Escape have published the piece in full. Read it here.
🥋 In North Texas, a green beret opened a gym where veterans can find community and support using Jiujitsu.