Who is Luca Nardi? Meet the Novak Djokovic super fan playing his idol at Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic is getting used to playing opponents who grew up idolising him and that is certainly the story for his next opponent Luca Nardi.

The promising Italian star has posters of Djokovic on his bedroom door as he sets his sights on becoming a tennis star, with his breakthrough week at the Indian Wells Masters set to continue as he get a chance to take on the game’s all-time great.

Nardi, 20, may need to pinch himself to believe he is hitting balls against a legend who has been such a big part of the reason why he fell in love with tennis, as he told the ATP Tour that his dreams will all come true as he takes centre stage against Djokovic.

“I think it’s one of the best experiences that a guy can live, especially for someone young like me,” said Nardi. 

“I have a picture of him in my room, so you can understand. You can imagine for me how this can be very exciting. For sure it’s going to be a great experience.

“It’s very cool. Thinking where I started, in a smaller tennis club where I was very shy to be on the court,” Nardi said. “My mom had to be on the net post because I needed her to be there. I had to have someone to give me confidence.

“To be here now, to play in a stadium like this in front of this crowd against the No. 1 in the world, for sure it’s something great for me.

“I learned that with a player of that kind of level, I cannot lose any points without being focused,” Nardi said.

“I have to be very focused on every point, on every shot that I make when I make a shot. For sure, it will be even more on Monday against Djokovic. I will try my best and let’s see what happens.”

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Nardi’s run to the third round at Indian Wells is all the more remarkable when you consider he lost in the final round of qualifying against David Goffin last week.

He was third on the lucky loser list, but sneaked into the main draw and made the most of his big break which included a bye in the first round as he replaced the seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

He backed that up with an impressive win against China’s world No 50 Zhang Zhizhen in round two and this kind of week can be transformative for a young player who will now start getting entries into tournaments that were out of his reach at this formative stage of his career.

“I wasn’t thinking about staying here. I was supposed to leave on the following day,” said Nardi. “I just stayed because there was a small chance to get in and it happened. My mind was already on to the next tournament.”

Nardi’s Indian Wells run has pushed him up to No 106 in the live ATP rankings and if he could pull off a miracle and beat Djokovic, he will break the top 100 for the first time.

Prior to this run at Indian Wells, Nardi’s best performance on the ATP Tour came as he reached the second round at the Monte-Carlo Masters last year, while he has also won five ATP Challenger titles, which is the level just below the main ATP Tour.

If his performances of the last few days are a gauge of what is to come, we should be seeing a lot more of Luca Nardi over the next few years.

Meanwhile, Djokovic admits he needs to improve after a tough opening test against Australia’s Alexander Vukic, as he admits he needs time on court to find his best form.

“Obviously very self-critical,” he said after his three-set win against Vukic in round two.

“I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.

“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then, you know, of course allows you to work on certain specifics in the game.

“I think as the tournament progresses, I believe my game will get better as well, I will feel more confident about myself and my chances to go far in the tournament.”