FOR the first time in almost seven years, former world number one Novak Djokovic suffered his third straight loss, this time coming in the second round of Indian Wells. The Serbian now sixth seed went down to Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-2 3-6 6-1 in two hours and two minutes.

Van de Zandschulp lost 6-0 in his deciding set of the qualifiers with some rumours suggesting he knew a lucky loser spot was on the line and therefore safe passage through to the main draw. A day later he defeated an injured Nick Kyrgios then a couple of days after that, has ousted Kyrgios’ close friend Djokovic, a five-time winner at the ‘Fifth Slam’.

Van de Zandschulp is ranked 85th in the world, and while the second round match was up-and-down for the Dutchman, he crushed the world number seven with ease in the first and third sets, coming away with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory. It marked his eighth win over a Top 10 opponent and meant he had achieved back-to-back victories on Tour for the first time in 2025.

“I think I kept my cool during the whole match,” Van de Zandschulp said post-match. “The second set was very tough, he gained a big lead. “But I think I did well turning it to 5-3 to get the momentum back a little bit. “I think I started well, surviving one or two games in the third set, and then broke and turned it around. “I know if I go into the match and lose my cool, especially against the big players, it’s going to be a really tough day. That’s always one thing I’m trying to do well.”

Djokovic was gunning to tie Rafael Nadal for an equal-sharing 410 wins at ATP1000 Masters level, though the 24-time Grand Slam champion has more titles (40-36), as well as more finals and semi-finals than any other player since the the ATP1000 level began in 1990.

Van de Zandschulp hit 26 winners to 15 and played more efficiently than his usually rock solid opponent, only hitting 25 unforced errors to 37, and only 13 across the first and third sets. He served four aces to nil, and won 60 and 71 per cent of his first and second serve points, only broken twice during the match while converting five of eight break point chances himself.

The Dutchman will go on to face 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo in the Round of 32, in what was a ridiculous couple of days of upsets across the board. While top seed Alexander Zverev and fellow Top 10 player Casper Ruud bowed out yesterday, seventh seed Andrey Rublev joined Djokovic in the early Indian Wells exits, going down to Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

It was more straight forward for second seed Carlos Alcaraz who brushed aside Frenchman Quentin Halys in straight sets, while world number four Taylor Fritz and 10th ranked Alex de Minaur also crushed their respective opponents to advance through to the Round of 32.