Absolute stunner! Luca Nardi, ranked No. 123 in the world, knocks out No. 1 Novak Djokovic

Take a bow Luca Nardi.

In one of the more stunning outcomes in recent men's tennis, Luca Nardi, a 20-year-old from Italy ranked No. 123 in the world who was only in the tournament as a replacement for an injured player, shocked the tennis world Monday night with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

It was one of the sport's all-time winners against what is known in tennis circles as a "lucky loser."

How unlikely was this upset? Entering the night, Novak Djokovic had won 1,095 singles matches on the ATP Tour. Nardi had won four. But winner after winner, clutch serve after clutch serve and an ace for the final point gave Nardi the win of a lifetime.

Nardi beat the man whose poster still hangs on his bedroom door.

"An amazing feeling. I couldn't even imagine to play a match against him, and now I also beat him," Nardi said an hour after the match when meeting with media. "So it's such a dream come true for me."

Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles. Nardi has never been in the main draw of any Grand Slam tournament. Djokovic has won in Indian Wells five times. Nardi has never played in the BNP Paribas Open. But now he is the lowest-ranked player ever to beat Djokovic in a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam tournament.

When his winning ace whistled past Djokovic, Nardi dropped his racket and put his hands to his face in disbelief. The crowd of 15,712 on Stadium 1 got behind him more and more as the upset neared, even chanting his name "Lu-ca! Lu-ca!" in the third set.

"Honestly, I tried to don't listen too much to the crowd. I was trying just to be focused on what I had to do," Nardi said. "But after the match, my coaches told me, Luca, everyone was cheering for you. Such, I mean, incredible. Against Djokovic, he's the best player ever. So I think that I will keep it, this moment for me, yeah, for the rest of my life, yeah, for sure."

Nardi met Djokovic at the net and Djokovic gave him a handshake and what appeared to be some encouraging words. Nardi then walked over to the people in his player's box for hugs and high-fives. You could tell by the way he walked he was soaking it all in and still in complete disbelief.

Djokovic, who also lost a set in his first match to unseeded Aleksandar Vukic, was complimentary of the young Italian, but also quite disappointed in his own effort.

"Congrats to him, particulary in third set he played some great tennis, moves well, very talented. He got into the main draw as a lucky loser so he didn't have anything to lose. He played great and deserves to win," Djokovic said. "I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad. Those two things coming together he's having a great day, I'm having a really bad day, and the result is a negative outcome for me."

When asked if he expected Nardi to wilt under the pressure, Djokovic said it was his responsibility to make that happen and he didn't.

"Not if I don't make him. I helped him play well and I didn't help myself at all," Djokovic said. "I made some really terrible unforced errors and played defensive tennis. He played more free and aggressive than I did."

Djokovic had not played in a tournament since the Australian Open in January, but he did not use his six weeks off as an excuse. Djokovic did not play his best tennis, of course, but there were times during the match when Djokovic could only shake his head at the forehand winners Nardi kept coming up with.

Just how shocking is this upset

The more you delve into this match even happening at all, the more the upset grows in stature.

Six days ago, Nardi lost in the qualifying round of this tournament to David Goffin in three sets. He was inserted in the tournament as a "lucky loser" when Tomas Etcheverry pulled out of the event with a hamstring strain.

He wasn't even the first "lucky loser," he was the third. This means three people had to withdraw from the tournament for him to even get in the event.

Nardi beat Zhizhen Zhang. 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in his first match, setting up the matchup with Djokovic.

Before Monday, the best win of his career was, well, Saturday when he beat Zhang who is ranked No. 50 on tour.

His last win on tour came last April in Monte Carlo. He's never won twice at the same tournament before.

Nardi was asked what he would say if someone told him after he lost to Goffin that six days later he'd be beating Novak Djokovic.

"For sure, I would say, You are crazy. No one could imagine it. I was, like, third lucky loser. Even that, it surprised me when I get in. Even for me, I never, like, beat top 50. I also beat Zhang in the first round. Now, Djokovic, I don't know what to say about it. For sure I would say to him that he's crazy, yeah," he said.

Nardi is not the lowest-ranked player Djokovic has ever lost to. Not even close. In the 2010 Serbian Open, Djokovic lost to No. 319 Filip Krajinovic when he withdrew against him in the quarterfinals while trailing.

The match

Nardi, who said his goal was not to get beat 6-1, 6-1, started out strong in the match. He hit one of his many winners for a break and held on to take the first set. He said in about the third or fourth game is when he really started to believe he could compete. He won the first set 6-4.

A strange moment happened in the third game of the second set. Trailing 2-0, Nardi had a break chance and Djokovic hit a serve that Nardi thought was going to be long. Nardi stopped playing for a split second, but reacted awkwardly by hitting the ball back softly when he realized the serve was in. It went over the net, Djokovic hit a casual return, which Nardi then hit for a crosscourt winner.

Djokovic complained to the umpire that Nardi had stopped playing and the point should have been over because he then stopped playing. The umpire listened to Djokovic but did not agree, correctly stating that Nardi didn't say anything or make a gesture that could be considered a hindrance. And though it was unlucky for Djokovic, it was not illegal.

It seemed to energize Djokovic who won the second set 6-3. At that point it seemed inevitable that Nardi's cute little upset attempt would go up in flames, but he didn't budge.

The third set was on serve at 3-2 when Nardi came up with all kinds of magic. He hit a sizzling forehand winner for the first point, and kept pressuring Djokovic with powerful strokes deep in the court, forcing errors and keeping Djokovic on his heels. A Djokovic shot into the net gave Nardi the break and a 4-2 lead.

He was able to hold serve the rest of the way, finishing the match and his career moment with an ace.

Nardi advances to the fourth round where he will play American Tommy Paul on Wednesday.

And just in case you had any doubt that Nardi was surprised to beat Djokovic, he was asked what he thought about Tommy Paul. His response:

"Tommy Paul for what? I play against him? Oh, really?" he said with a laugh. "I didn't know. I mean... I didn't check the draw. Okay. So thanks for letting me know. I don't know what to say. I didn't know it, so for sure I will prepare the match with my coaches. And it's going to be a very tough one, because he's playing very good. I like his game, his style. Let's see what happens."