Not even the No. 1 player in the world is immune to the upset bug at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open.
Reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic went down to Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4 during third-round action on Tuesday afternoon. The 35-year-old finished off one of the biggest wins of his career–one game of which was played on Monday night before being delayed by rain–after a total of one hour and 38 minutes.
“I had two good wins (prior to this match),” said Kohlschreiber, who made routine work of Nick Kyrgios by the same 6-4, 6-4 scoreline in round two. “Everything came together. It’s a very special win today; very special to beat the No. 1. Unfortunately the tournament is not over. I have to get back tomorrow with a great mindset. Today I want to take the moment (to) celebrate with my coach. I’ve got a lot of messages. I know it’s a very special victory today.”
Up next for the world No. 39 is Gael Monfils, who is dominating the head-to-head series 13-2.
“Gael played better than me in these matches,” Kohlschreiber admitted. “He loves the big stage. He’s at the moment in a very good run–a lot of confidence. It’s going to be very tough, of course. I put all the pressure to him. He has great record against me. He’s higher-ranked. He has to win. I have nothing to lose tomorrow.”
Speaking of lopsided rivalries, Roger Federer improved to 22-3 lifetime at the expense of fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka with a 6-3, 6-4 romp on Tuesday night. Federer fired four aces without double-faulting and he did not face a single break point.
“I think I felt good from the beginning,” the 2018 Indian Wells Masters runner-up remarked. “The breeze picked up a little bit for the evening, I thought, but I didn’t feel like it had that much of a play in it. I think for me the plan worked. I was able to mix up my game, cover my serve, be dangerous on the return, maybe take some rhythm away from Stan like I always try to do. But you can’t always make it work.”
Federer goes up against Kyle Edmund on Wednesday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Other fourth-round contestants include 40-year-old Ivo Karlovic and lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic in addition to unseeded floaters Kohlschreiber, Yoshihito Nishioka, Jan-Lennard Struff, Hubert Hurkacz, and qualifier Filip Krajinovic. Struff ousted world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, Hurkacz upset Kei Nishikori (again, after beating him in Dubai), and Shapovlov rolled over Marin Cilic.
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