Five-time champ Djokovic eliminated early at Indian Wells

Five-time champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shocking early exit at the Indian Wells Open, falling 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening match on Saturday.

It marks the second consecutive year that Djokovic has been eliminated from the ATP Masters 1000 event by a lucky loser and extends his title drought, with his last tournament victory dating back to the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic entered the match as a heavy -1429 favorite with top tennis sportsbooks but struggled with the high-bouncing courts and swirling wind.

The world No. 1 looked far from his best, committing 37 unforced errors while hitting just 15 winners in a two-hour, two-minute defeat.

“It’s always something happening, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Djokovic said afterward.

“I mean, obviously no excuses for a poor performance. Just it doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court, but congratulations to my opponent.

“You know, just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me. I regret the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days. To be honest, the difference between the center court and the other courts is immense. The ball is bouncing on the center courts higher than some of the highest clay courts. Just struggled a lot with that. Couldn’t find the rhythm.”

Djokovic had been listed at +750 to win the tennis tournament with Nags.bet, second only to Carlos Alcaraz (+300).

With his elimination, Alcaraz has firmed to +120] as the favorite to claim his third straight Indian Wells title, following a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over Quentin Halys earlier in the day.

Daniil Medvedev now sits as Alcaraz’s closest competitor in outright betting at +800, especially after top seed Alexander Zverev also suffered an early exit, losing 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) to Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match.