Novak Djokovic says he is "struggling to play on a desired level" after suffering a shock defeat to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp in his Indian Wells opener on Saturday.

Djokovic failed to find a consistent rhythm as mistakes cost him, and Van de Zandschlup made no mistakes as he earned a 6-2 3-6 6-1 triumph in just over two hours.

The Serb made 37 unforced errors across the match, making 14 of those in the first set as went on a five-game winning streak, with two comfortable breaks to take the lead.

Djokovic drastically improved on that in the second, making just six as he reeled off the first three games. He went another break up to make it 5-1, coming back from 0-40 to get it, and though he failed to serve out the set on the next game, he forced a decider shortly after.

Van de Zandschlup came back with venom in the third set though, as he asserted his dominance with a five-game winning streak to secure the major upset.

And Djokovic was left frustrated with the level he showed on Saturday.

"You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years," Djokovic said.

"I've been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but, you know, mostly it's really a challenge. It's a struggle for me.

"So, it is what it is. I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way."

3 - Botic van de Zandschulp is now only the third lucky loser to defeat Novak Djokovic in the latter's career at ATP level, after Lorenzo Sonego and Luca Nardi, who also achieved the feat at Indian Wells last year. Wow!#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/RPX7Yordx7

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 9, 2025

Van de Zandschlup is now only the third lucky loser to defeat Novak Djokovic in the latter's career at ATP level, after Lorenzo Sonego and Luca Nardi, who also achieved the feat at Indian Wells last year.

It also means it is the first time an ATP top-10 player has lost in consecutive years to lucky losers at a single ATP Masters 1000 event, since 1990.

Djokovic, who owns the most titles (40), finals (59) and semi-finals (78) at ATP Masters 1000 level, was aiming to tie Rafael Nadal for the most wins (410).

Djokovic was forced out of the Australian Open semi-finals with a hamstring injury and lost his opener at the Qatar Open last month in his first match since the grand slam.

However, the 37-year-old brushed off the idea that a physical problem had hindered him.

"I mean, it's always something happening, but I don't want to talk about it," he added.

"No excuses for a poor performance ... just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me."