Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic was disappointed after he suffered a three-set loss against Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening round of the Indian Wells Masters on Saturday. The Lucky Loser registered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win at the BNP Paribas Open and stunned the Serbian.
Djokovic admitted it has been a struggle for him as this was his third consecutive loss on the tour. Recently, the Serbian was also stunned by Matteo Berrettini in the opening round of the Qatar Open.
“You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level,” the 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion said. “Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.
“I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way. “
Djokovic hit just 16 winners and committed 37 unforced errors as he could not bring his best on the court.
The 99-time tour titlist admitted he could not grab his opportunities in the third set and made awful mistakes.
“The first three games, four games of the third set were quite close. Had my chances. Was just some awful mistakes,” said Djokovic, who is No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “I thought I was on most of these points in the beginning of the third.
“I don’t know, when I reflect on this match, obviously I’ll see a little bit more what I could have done more, but… he played some really good points to break my serve. But just putting myself in that position, I shouldn’t allow myself to do that.”
The Dutchman will next take on Francisco Cerundolo in the next round on Tuesday.
