Novak Djokovic’s latest defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the Indian Wells Saturday night reflects his struggles to adapt to courts that he has been very spoken about to the media. The 24-time Grand Slam winner didn’t mince his words when he said the difference between the center and outer courts is immense.
Djokovic, 37, pointed out that the ball is bouncing on the center courts higher than some of the highest clay courts, and he has been struggling with that, not finding a rhythm. The Serbian lost 2-6, 6-3. 1-6 to Botic van de Zandschulp. He committed 37 unforced errors in the match and hit only 16 winners leaving fans disappointed.
This was Djokovic’s third consecutive loss in the 2025 season so far. He told the media that things have been challenging to play on the desired level. On his defeat to the Dutchman, Djokovic shared that the first three games, four games of the third set were quite close, but he made some awful mistakes.
He applauded Botic van de Zandschulp, 29, for breaking his serve and playing really good points.
Botic van de Zandschulp Keeps Cool Against Novak Djokovic
No. 85 Botic van de Zandschulp has earned his rightful spot in the limelight by defeating Novak Djokovic, a 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion. He is riding high with back-to-back wins on the ATP Tour for the first time in 2025. Zandschulp said it was a tough match against the Serbian but he kept his cool.
He told the media that Djokovic gained a big lead in the second set but he kept going turning it to a 5-3, survived the third set, and broke the match by turning it around. The Dutchman believes its important to maintain his cool against big players because it’s going to be a tough game.
Zandschulp kept up the momentum of the game with his reflex volley and fine defense and slayed the champion with his backhand lob.
