Novak Djokovic suffered another early exit at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden following his loss to British No. 1 Jack Draper in the Round of 16. The Serbian legend, playing only his second tournament of the year after the miraculous 2026 Australian Open run, seemed gassed out during the match, which he himself accepted during his post-match press conference.
Novak Djokovic Reflects on His 2026 Indian Wells Campaign Following His Loss Against Jack Draper
Draper defeated Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in the Round of 16 match of the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells on Wednesday, March 11. This marked another exit for the Serbian legend, who had not even made the final eight at the tournament since 2016, when he won the entire tournament, defeating Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-0 in the Championship match.
Following the unfortunate loss, Djokovic spoke with reporters at his post-match press conference, reflecting on the tournament and his performance. He began by talking about his efforts, saying, “Yeah, I mean, bitter feeling right now, losing a match like this. But proud of myself for fighting and really giving it all on the court. That’s for sure. That’s the one thing that I’ll take as a highlight – just the fact of not giving up and trying.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champ then credited Draper for his performance, but expressed his honest disappointment following the loss. “I mean, obviously, I lost to a great player, and it was really such an even match throughout the entire two-and-a-half hours. Just a bit disappointed, of course, with getting off the court, fresh off the court. It is okay. I mean, I wish I could have done better, but it was a good fight.”
The Serbian legend and the defending champion delivered some of the best volleys of the night during an intense match. In the decider, Draper failed to serve out the match at 5-4 when Djokovic broke him to level the set. He then regrouped himself and held his nerves in the unpredictable tiebreak, winning four of the last five points to continue his title defense.
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The five-time Indian Wells Champion started the match dominantly, as both players held serves till the very last game, where Djokovic broke Draper to take the set. The Briton then opened the second set with aggressive intentions, breaking his opponent in the very first game. The Serbian legend replied with a break to level the score at 3-3, but could not stop Draper at the end as he reeled off to win three consecutive points and took the set 6-4.
The decider was as physical a battle as it was mental. Due to his age, Djokovic was noticeably gassed out right from the start, but Draper only got more aggressive. He increased the intensity of his returns and served bullet-like aces right at the Serbian. The Briton broke his opponent early to take a 3-1 lead, but the World No. 3 leveled the match at 5-5 before Draper forced a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, it was initially close, but the defending champion turned it in his favor, winning 7-6(5). Draper landed a total of 13 aces against Djokovic throughout the match, while hitting 39 winners, leaving the Serbian legend looking for answers. Interestingly, the five-time champion won a total of 99 points while Draper won one less, 98, during the match, but was still able to secure the win.
Since winning the 2016 Indian Wells title, Djokovic’s best result at the tournament is his Round of 16 finish in 2017, where he lost to the Australian star Nick Kyrgios. Since then, he has either lost to lower-ranked players or not participated in the event, notably from 2021 to 2023.
Draper now faces the 2023 and 2024 runner-up and the 11th seed of the tournament, Daniil Medvedev, in the quarterfinals tonight, March 12. According to PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator, the Russian has over 63% chances of winning the match and reaching his fourth consecutive semifinal at the Tennis Paradise.
