Djokovic and Zverev already out of Indian Wells

Indian Wells is already providing big surprises, with two of the best tennis players, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, where eliminated in their first games at the Indian Wells. When the bracket was announced, a quarter-final between Djokovic and Alcaraz was seen on the horizon, just two months after the Australian Open, but that will no longer be the case.

Djokovic, who has won Indian Wells five time, fell to Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp, 85th at the ATP Rankings. Djokovic made too many mistakes (37 unforced errors), and said that "Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but mostly it's really a challenge. I've been struggling to play on the desired level" (via ATP) and the 37-year-old admitted that "nothing can prepare you for that moment."

Djokovic has been struggling a lot since 2023, with the Gold in Paris 2024 the only bright side of the past 16 months, which included him retiring from the Australian semi-final in January, and has now lost three consecutive matches for the first time since 2018.

Meanwhile, German player Alexander Zverev fell to Tallon Griekspoor. At this rate, he could loose the 2nd spot to Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Quentin Halys and, without Djokovic, has a clearer path to three-peat at the Californiann Masters 1000.

Also in the round of 64, Jack Draper eliminated young Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca and world no. 4 Taylor Fritz moves up by defeating Matteo Gigante.