Djokovic defeated at Indian Wells by world number 109 Taro Daniel
Former world number one Novak Djokovic fell to a shock defeat to current world number 109 Taro Daniel in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, according to a report on BBC Sport.
The 30-year-old has exited the tournament in the second round and was convincingly beaten by his Japanese opponent.
The Serbian was making his first appearance since picking up an injury at the Australian Open earlier in the year. He then had to undergo surgery on a constant elbow injury in February.
He has been working his way back to full fitness for the last couple of weeks but claims that he didn’t feel comfortable back on the court.
Djokovic said after the loss:
It felt like first match I ever played on the tour. Very weird. I completely lost rhythm.
I was grateful to be out on the court after surgery that quickly but at the same time I just didn’t feel good at all.
I was not even supposed to be here because of the surgery that was only five, six weeks ago. But I recovered very quickly, and I got myself ready.
Maybe the rushed return to action was not a good decision by Djokovic and his team as the former world number one made an incredible 61 unforced errors during the match.
Djokovic will now be aiming to continue working hard on his fitness as he looks to hit top form this year.