Novak Djokovic makes honest admission about his 'poor performance', bemoans court conditions after crashing out of Indian Wells in surprise upset

Novak Djokovic was bundled out of the BNP Paribas Open 2025 at Indian Wells by Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday, March 8. After a first-round bye, he took on the lucky loser in the second round, and lost to him 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Despite a brief fightback in the second set, he got outplayed in the decider even though he had a few chances to get back into the match.

This marks the second straight year that Djokovic was knocked out by a lucky loser here, following his defeat at the hands of Luca Nardi a year ago. The Serb was naturally disappointed with the outcome, and didn't mince his words when he fielded questions from the press after the match.

The Serb hasn't played that much this season, especially after he injured himself at the Australian Open. He made a swift exit from his previous tournament, the Qatar Open, without a win to his name. There were reports of him being sick as well. However, he didn't want to dwell on those factors, and gave credit to his opponent.

"I mean, it's always something happening, but I don't want to talk about it. I mean, obviously no excuses for a poor performance. Just it doesn't feel great when you play this way on the court, but congratulations to my opponent. You know, just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me," Djokovic said.

While Djokovic was displeased with his performance, he did point out the varying court conditions. He felt that the ball on the Center Court was bouncing higher than it does on clay courts, something that shouldn't be happening on hardcourts. That made it quite difficult for him to find his groove.

"You know, I regret for the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days. To be honest, the difference between the center court and the other courts is immense. Ball is bouncing on the center courts higher than some of the highest clay courts, to be honest. Yeah, just struggled a lot with that. Couldn't find the rhythm," he stated.

Djokovic has now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2018. Following a fourth-round exit from the Australian Open that year, he crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open without winning a match as well. He will now aim to regroup with a better showing at his next tournament in Miami, though his participation remains up in the air.

---

Novak Djokovic's participation in the Miami Open 2025 isn't guaranteed as of now

Novak Djokovic at the BNP Paribas Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

While Novak Djokovic is on the entry list of the Miami Open 2025, which will start from March 18, he's not sure of his participation in it just yet. When asked about his plans for the same during his press conference at the BNP Paribas Open, he stated that he will have a chat with his team about it before making the final decision.

"Yeah. I mean, still haven't talked with Andy and the team, so going to do that and make a plan," - Djokovic said.

The Serb is a five-time champion at the Miami Open, and won his most recent title back in 2016. However, he hasn't competed there since his fourth-round exit from the 2019 edition.