This is not the first time that the world number one has lost to an athlete not in the top 100 of the ATP rankings at the Masters. There have been other sensations in the history of ATP-1000 tournaments.
Nicholas Pereira vs. Thomas Muster: Miami Open 1996
In 1996, world number 114 Nicholas Pereira defeated world number 1 Thomas Muster in the second round of the Miami Open. The Venezuelan beat the eight-time Masters 1000 champion in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4.
The Austrian arrived in Florida after a winning streak in Mexico. After poor performances at the Indian Wells and the Miami Open, he won 3 titles in a row at the Estoril Open, the Barcelona Open and the Monte Carlo Masters. Pereira, after a sensational victory, lost to Stefan Edberg 4-6, 2-6. Pereira has never been higher than 76th in the ATP rankings and has only won 2 tournaments in the ATP-250 series.
Luca Nardi vs Novak Djokovic: Indian Wells 2024
123rd in the ATP ranking, Luca Nardi has currently become the author of the main sensation of 2024 by eliminating Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells, beating the Serb in three sets – 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Before Indian Wells, Nardi could not participate in the main draw of any ATP tournament in 2024. And even in the United States, he was not supposed to play, since he lost to David Goffin in qualifying. But the Italian was lucky, he became a lucky loser and subsequently beat the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen. And then there was the main victory of my career. He has never beaten a tennis player in the top 20 of the ATP rankings and has never been ranked in the top 100.
It was Djokovic’s second consecutive loss to an Italian player and the first time in his career that he was beaten by a lucky loser.
Nardi’s fairy tale didn’t last long: he was beaten by 17th seed Tommy Paul in the round of 16.
Vasek Pospisil vs. Andy Murray: Indian Wells 2017
In 2017, world number 129 Vasek Pospisil defeated then-reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray at Indian Wells. Pospisil entered the Masters 1000 tournament by qualifying and started with a brilliant victory against Yen Xun Lu with a score of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3. Then the Canadian faced a serious task: overtaking Andy Murray, who occupies first place in the ATP rankings.
Pospisil finally beat Murray in 1 hour and 50 minutes 6-4, 7-6 (5), but the Canadian was then immediately eliminated by Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Pospisil was not an unknown tennis player, he was even in the top 30 3 years before this match, but then he lost significantly.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Roger Federer: Miami Open 2018
In 2018, world number 175 Thanasi Kokkinakis shocked the tennis community by defeating Roger Federer at the Miami Open. He entered the main draw through qualifying and defeated Calvin Hemery in the first round.
Then, for the first time in his career, the Australian had to fight with the legendary Swiss Roger Federer and Kokkinakis snatched victory in the tie-break of the third set 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) .
While Federer made an immediate comeback by winning the title at the Stuttgart Open, Kokkinakis failed to get past Fernando Verdasco in the third round in Miami. The Spaniard beat Kokkinakis in 2 hours 54 minutes – 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Kokkinakis is already a pretty famous tennis player, but there aren’t enough stars in the sky. In 2022, he faced Australia in the Davis Cup final, but lost to Canada, where Vasek Pospisil played in a duo. Tanasi is Australia’s second racket, but so far he has only won one tournament and has never been higher than 65th in the rankings.
Francisco Clavet vs. Lleyton Hewitt: Miami Open 2003
In 2003, world number 178 Francisco Clavet defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the second round of the Miami Open. Clavet started the tournament by beating Vladimir Volchkov then stunned world number one Hewitt 6-4, 6-4. Like all the other tennis players featured above, Clavet lost in the next match. The Spaniard was eliminated by the Korean Hyun Taika Lee.
At the time of the match, Clavet was 34 years old and not an unknown tennis player. Simply due to his age, his best times were long behind him and in the same 2003 he retired. But in 1992, he was 18th in the world and won 8 ATP tournaments during his career.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
