Philipp Kohlschreiber has stunned Novak Djokovic in their third round match at the ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells.
Top seed Djokovic was ousted from the tournament he has won five times in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.
Unseeded German veteran Kohlschreiber, who eliminated Australian Nick Kyrgios in the previous round, punched the air in celebration after a video review confirmed that his forehand winner caught the line on match point to seal his first win in 12 attempts against players ranked world No.1.
“It’s a very special moment. Of course, playing the top guys is always a big pleasure, but most of the time they beat you,” Kohlschreiber said on court.
“Today, with Novak being No.1, top-seeded here, it’s a very incredible win for me.”
The 35-year-old Kohlschreiber won’t have long to celebrate, however, as the overnight interruption of his match against Djokovic for rain means he will be back on court for a fourth-round meeting with France’s Gael Monfils on Wednesday.
There was no trouble for world No.2 Rafael Nadal who powered past Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-1 in 75 minutes to reach the last 16.
“I did a lot of things well. I started the match very well,” Nadal said.
“My serve worked very well, especially in the first set.
Nadal will play Filip Krajinovic in the last 16 after the Serbian shocked Russian 14th seed Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-2.
In another upset earlier on Tuesday, unseeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz fired 10 aces en route to a 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori to reach the fourth round.
The 67th-ranked Hurkacz will next face Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov, who continued his run of dominant serving without being broken on his way to an impressive 6-4 6-2 win over 10th seeded Croat Marin Cilic.
After the match 19-year-old Shapovalov, the 24th seed, expressed his appreciation for his fans by rapping a song from the sun-soaked court three.
“Take care and good night, know this the good life, hot tubs and court time, Thursday we back alright!” he said to earn a roar of approval from the audience.
Others to reach the last were American eighth seed John Isner, Russian 12th seed Karen Khachanov and 22nd-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund.
