Who is Luca Nardi, the tennis player following in Sinner's footsteps who beat Djokovic

Luca Nardi beats Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells, the feat of the Italian tennis player

“A magical night that I will never forget”, the first words written on his Instagram page by Luca Nardithe tennis player from Pesaro who beat the Serbian in three sets Novak Djokovic (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) qualifying for the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wellsin California where he entered the draw as Lucky Loser (replacing the 30th seed Tomás Etcheverry), then defeating Zhizhen Zhang in the first round.

Luca Nardi beats Novak Djokovic, that Nole poster in the room…

And now this beautiful victory against Djokovic, one of his tennis idols. “I still have Novak's poster in my room. Every night I go to bed I look at it. I think I will continue to do so for sure… I'm joking, but I think I'll keep it,” the words of Luca Nardi.

A victory that puts him in the world top-100, moving from position 123 to 95 in the ATP ranking.

Who is Luca Nardi, the tennis player following in Sinner's footsteps who beat Djokovic

At 14 years and 10 months, 20-year-old Luca Nardi from Pesaro became the youngest Italian ever to earn an ATP point. He has a golden arm (excellent forehand, solid serve, two-handed backhand and attacking game) which boasts five Challenger titles out of six finals playedhad ended 2023 one step away from the top-100 that he reached today by qualifying for the Next Gen 2023 finals with the best talents in world tennis.

His sporting legends? The fellow countryman Valentino Rossi (born in Tavullia, in the province of Pesaro) and the basketball player Lebron James. He is passionate about football and is a huge fan of the Naples.

Luca Nardi, a new talent in Italian tennis in the wake of the Sinner phenomenon, with whom he trains every now and then. “I don't know if there are any secrets. But for sure, like all Italian players, I look up to Jannik for what he does. I've had the chance to train with him many times. I always try to learn from him, because he's a very good guy. kind, a hard worker, and it's very nice what he is doing for Italy, for our country, for tennis in Italy, because now tennis is becoming even more popular. I hope I can achieve it. Not with his results , but you never know.”