Indian Wells, March 9 : Five-time champion Novak Djokovic suffered an opening round loss at the Indian Wells Open at hand of lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp on Sunday (IST).

Van de Zandschulp upset Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to add to his ever growing giant killing reputation. He became the second lucky loser in a row to beat Djokovic at Indian Wells, following in the footsteps of Luca Nardi 12 months ago.

Djokovic lost his third match in a row, which last happened in 2018 as part of an injury-hit season. He has dealt with injuries in 2025, too, hurting his hamstring at the Australian Open.

Just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me. I regret for the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days. 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," said Djokovic.

After retiring in his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev, falling to Matteo Berrettini in his Doha opener and now suffering defeat to Van de Zandschulp, it is just the second time Djokovic has lost three consecutive matches since the start of the 2008 season (2018 Australian Open-Miami).

The Serb, who owns the record for most titles (40), finals (59) and semi-finals (78) at ATP Masters 1000 level, missed out on tying Nadal for the most match wins in Masters 1000 history, although the perennial record breaker already owns the most Masters titles.

Van de Zandschulp capitalised on an uncharacteristically error-strewn opening set from Djokovic before conjuring some inspired shot-making prowess in the decider to prevail in two hours, one minute. By securing his eighth victory over a Top 10 opponent, Van de Zandschulp notched back-to-back wins on the ATP Tour for the first time in 2025, ATP reports.

Van de Zandschulp owns a heftier reputation than the Italian, though. The 29-year-old beat Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal last season and collected a win over Nick Kyrgios on Thursday.

/IANS