"I was not even supposed to be here because of the surgery" - When Novak Djokovic suffered shock Indian Wells loss to player outside top 100

Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at the 2018 Indian Wells Open, falling in his opener to a player then ranked World No. 109. It was his second straight loss in a row for the reason, following an exit at the Australian Open to Chung Hyeon.

After the Melbourne exit, Djokovic opted for elbow surgery in Switzerland, which took him out of the Middle East swing. The return to action at Indian Wells was not so kind for the Serb, who found himself struggling unusually against a peaking opponent.

The player in question is Taro Daniel, who came into the main draw from the qualifiers and beat Cameron Norrie in the first round to set up a meeting with the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Daniel prevailed 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1, his first win over Djokovic in their first meeting.

Speaking at his press conference afterwards, Djokovic admitted that he was not even supposed to be playing the tournament in the first place, having just had surgery.

"I just wanted to go out and see. I mean, I had no expectations," Djokovic said via ASAP Sports.

"I was not even supposed to be here because of the surgery that was only five, six weeks ago. But I recovered very quickly, and I got myself ready. That's it. I mean, I played like everyone else," he added.

At the same time, the Serb had no regrets about his loss, emphasizing that he had overcome many injuries in the past and that it was not a situation that left him rattled at the end of the day.

"I have experienced many times similar situations, so I know that there is always something good in it. You just need to try to set your mind at that frequency," Djokovic said.

"So obviously right now, I mean, I'm sitting here and talking after a lost match. It's not something that I as an athlete want but, at the same time, there is a reason everything happens in life," he added.

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"It felt like first match I ever played on the tour" - Novak Djokovic on his Indian Wells 2018 loss

2025 Australian Open - Day 4 - Source: Getty

Speaking of how he played in the loss, Novak Djokovic was brutally honest, admitting in the press conference that he felt like he was back playing his very first match on the ATP Tour all those years ago without any sense of rhythm.

Regardless, he was glad to be back on the court after surgery, even if he did not feel good at all about how his day went.

"For me it felt like first match I ever played on the tour. Very weird. I mean, I just completely lost rhythm, everything. Just struggled also a little bit with the health the last couple of weeks."

"But yeah, it was just -- I was grateful to be out on the court after surgery that quickly. But at the same time, just didn't feel good at all," Djokovic said.

To this day, Djokovic's head-to-head against Taro Daniel remains 0-1, and he has never gotten the opportunity to get revenge for his Indian Wells loss.