It was a case of what could have been for Novak Djokovic as he suffered a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1, loss to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Playing in only his second tournament since returning to the tour from an elbow injury, the former world No.1 illustrated glimmers of his best tennis before coming undone by a total of 61 unforced errors. In contrast, underdog Daniel stuck to his game plan of forcing his opponent to play long rallies to grab only his second win of the season.
“I made so many unforced errors that it was just, you know, one of those days where you’re not able to find the rhythm from the baseline, especially from the backhand side. That has always been a rock-solid shot for me throughout my career.” Djokovic said after the match.
“Just some inexplicable, uncharacteristic errors. But that’s, I guess, it’s all part of those particular circumstances that I’m in at the moment.”
The opening set was a tale of two halves for the Serbian. A solid start to the match positioned Djokovic in a stronghold as he broke his opponent to lead 3-1. There were no signs of him being bothered by pain in his elbow as he moved effectively around the court. Delighting his army of fans in Indian Wells. After 30 minutes of play, Djokovic earned his first set point, but failed to convert in what proved to be a turning point of the match.
As the mistakes from the five-time champion mounted, so did the concern from Djokovic’s camp. During the first set, 22 unforced errors was committed with them being almost evenly split between the forehand and backhand sides. As a consequence, the slightly more consistent Daniel managed to claim the 7-6 lead at the expense of another error from Djokovic on set point.
Regardless of his recent injury troubles, a person of Djokovic’s calibre was still capable of coming back. Something he managed to achieve midway through the second set as he battled to break for a 4-3 lead. The breakthrough temporary revitalised his game as he became more animated on the court. Struggling with his tentative play, he eventually managed to force the match into a decider with the help of a long shot from Daniel on set point. Prompting a huge fist pump from the former champion.
🔥⬆️@DjokerNole forces deciding set against Taro Daniel ➡️ https://t.co/3vvQfoJmv9#BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/OtoN56CJyT
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 11 March 2018
The emotional roller coaster continued as Djokovic’s lack of recent match play continued to haunt him. Allowing an inspired and undeterred Daniel to break to love for a 3-1 lead in the decider. From that moment of it was one traffic for the Japanese player with the encounter ending in the most appropriate way to sum up the match – back-to-back errors from Djokovic.
“I’d like to congratulate my opponent for fighting and showing great, great spirit on the court.” The 12-time grand slam champion commented bout his rival.
Following his win, world No.109 Daniel has secured his maiden victory over a top 20 player. It is also the first time he has won back-to-back matches in the main draw of a Masters event. In the third round he will take on either Ruben Bemelmans or Leonardo Mayer.
Back to the drawing board
Troubled by a cold in recent days, the 30-year-old is left pondering what to do next. Although he admits that he entered the draw with no expectations about how he was going to perform.
“I just wanted to go out and see. I mean, I had no expectations. 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. “ He explained.
It remains to be seen if Djokovic will go ahead with his intention to play at the Miami Masters, which will get underway a week on Monday. Historically Djokovic hasn’t lost his first match at Indian Wells since making his debut back in 2006.
“I’m definitely going to think about everything.” Djokovic assured. “Obviously I miss tennis. In one way, I miss competing. I miss being out there. It’s a big part of my life.
“But at the same time I just have to talk with the team and create the best possible strategy moving forward.”
Djokovic also missed last year’s Miami Open due to his elbow injury.
