The Riverside Press-Enterprise
`Lucky Loser' Nardi shocks Djokovic in BNP Paribas Open
Luca Nardi used a combination of poise and power to stun his boyhood idol and top-seeded Novak Djokovic with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win late on Monday night in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Nardi, who’s ranked No. 123, closed out his huge upset over the No. 1 player in the rankings with an ace. The 20-year-old from Italy dropped his racket and brought his hands to his face almost in disbelief before greeting Djokovic at the net.
“This is a miracle,” Nardi said in an interview on the Tennis Channel. “I’m a 20-years-old guy, 100 in the world, and beating Novak. So, crazy. Crazy.”
Setting the tone early with his hard-hitting shots, Nardi frustrated Djokovic all evening. There was a moment when Nardi was surprised by an “in” call and casually hit the ball back over the net. It resulted in a winner and led to Djokovic complaining to the official about a potential hindrance.
To think, Nardi was nearly on his way home. He got into the field as a “lucky loser,” which is a player who stumbled on the final hurdle in qualifying but made it into the main draw as a replacement for an injured player who pulled out before the first round. In Nardi’s case, he stepped in for No. 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry and received a bye through the opening round.
He went on to become the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event, surpassing No. 122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami.
• In other results: No. 4 Daniil Medvedev’s was just good enough, as he edged No. 29 Sebastian Korda 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 and will face No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov . ... Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka beat 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-5 to advance . ... Gael Monfils won a three-set thriller over Cameron Norrie, the
tournament’s 2021 winner, in a match that took more than three hours.
• On Tuesday, secondranked and returning champion Carlos Alcaraz avenged a previous loss to Fabian Marozsan, winning 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals as the top remaining seed in the men’s draw.
Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Jiri Lehecka 6-2, 6-4.
On the women’s side, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-1, and Anastasia Potapova defeated Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 0-6, 6-3.
HOCKEY Kings head out on condensed road trip
The Kings will pass under the Arch in St. Louis, their gateway to three games in four nights against the Blues, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars on a rapid-fire road trip.
This condensed journey will pit them against a team with dimming playoff hopes, another who long since descended into the draft lottery abyss and one of the most formidable rosters in the league on the second night of a back-toback set with travel.
During their five-game homestand (3-1-1), the Kings built on a 5-1 triumph over the divisionleading Canucks in Vancouver. While they struggled at times against the lowly Ottawa Senators in an overtime victory and for much of the match
against the Central Division-leading Stars in a lopsided loss, the Kings mostly checked effectively in critical matches, their interim coach Jim Hiller said.h
“The defensive game that we played on the road that we liked, we brought it home, and we’re pretty consistent playing that, that’s what we like,” Hiller said. “Those are playofftype games when they’re tight, so we’d like to re-establish that (on the road trip).”
Most recently, the Kings shut out a bubble team but one that entered the contest on a six-game tear, the New York Islanders. Defenseman Mikey Anderson credited the forwards’ tenacity on the forecheck for setting the tone for the effort, and also the Kings’ Nhl-best penalty kill. They are one of just five teams with a PK percentage above 85, and the only one above 86.
Iditarod dog deaths spark PETA concerns
Two dogs died over the weekend during Alaska’s annual Iditarod sled dog race, marking the first deaths during the race in five years and renewing calls to end the 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) competition that sees mushers and their canine teams traverse mountain ranges, a frozen river and sea ice — often during treacherous weather.
Bog, a 2-year-old male on musher Issac Teaford’s team, collapsed Sunday morning about 200 feet (61 meters) short of the checkpoint in the village of Nulato, a former Russian trading post located 582 miles (937 km) into the race across the Alaska wilderness. He died despite a veterinarian performing CPR for about 20 minutes.
A second dog, George, a 4-year-old male on musher Hunter Keefe’s team, also collapsed and died despite attempts to revive him, a race statement said.
George died on the trail about 35 miles (56 kilometers) outside of the village of Kaltag, which is 629 miles (1,012 km) into the race.
A necropsy did not determine a cause of death for Bog, and the Iditarod said further testing will be conducted. A necropsy on George will also be conducted.
Keefe, of Knik, and Teaford, of Salt Lake City, both voluntarily quit the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday. Under the race rules, they risked being withdrawn by the race marshal otherwise.
The last dog to die during the annual race was Oshi, a 5-year-old female on musher Richie Beattie’s team, in 2019. At a postrace checkup, veterinarians found signs of pneumonia in the dog. She was flown to Anchorage for care but later died.
The dogs’ deaths prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, long the Iditarod’s biggest critic, to call for race’s end.
“The death count keeps climbing for dogs who are forced to run until their bodies break down, all so the human winner can get a trophy while the dogs get an icy grave,” PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’brien said in a statement. “PETA is calling for this despicable race to end.”
• Former New York Mets and Yankees star Darryl Strawberry is recovering from a heart attack. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Tuesday that Strawberry was stricken Monday, a day before the eight-time All-star’s 62nd birthday.