INDIAN WELLS: Five-time champion Novak Djokovic tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters on Saturday, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champ Carlos Alcaraz advanced.

`No excuses for a poor performance,` 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat.

`It doesn`t feel great when you play this way on the court,` he added. `But congratulations to my opponent just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.

Djokovic is just the latest in van de Zandschulp`s string of superstar victims.

He stunned Alcaraz at the US Open last year before beating Rafael Nadal in DavisCup in what proved the Spanish great`s last match.

`I think I kept my cool during the whole match,` said van de Zandschulp. `I know if I go into the match and lose my cool, especially against the big players, it`s going to be a really tough day. That`s always one thing I`m trying to do well.

After 14 unforced errors in the first set, Djokovic cleaned things up in the second, grabbing a quick break on the way to a 3-0 lead.

Djokovic pumped his fist after belting a forehand winner to the corner for his first break chance of the match and after consolidating the break nodded his head in satisfaction.

The rallies remained tense affairs and Djokovic`s frustration was clear at times, but after he was broken whenserving for the set he closed it out on his next service game.

It was only a brief respite.

Van de Zandschulp kept the pressure on both from the baseline and at the net and Djokovic`s errors began to pile up again.

Van de Zandschulp took control with a break for 3-1, reeling off the last five games as Djokovic was unable to stop the bleeding.

`The first three games, four games of the third set were quite close,` Djokovic, seeded sixth, said.

`Had my chances. Was just some awful mistakes.

Italian Matteo Arnaldi sprung another upset, beating seventh seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5. Djokovic and Rublev followed top seed Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Casper Ruud as second-roundcasualties.

With Zverev out and world number one Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, world number three Alcaraz is the highest seed left in the men`s draw.

Alcaraz, trying to join Djokovic and Roger Federer as the only men to win three straight Indian Wells titles, eased into his defence with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over France`s Quentin Halys.

He admitted he was feeling some nerves to start the match, but they evaporated amid a strong all-around performance.

One early break staked Alcaraz to the first set. He roared to a 4-0 lead in the second behind a formidable service display and wrapped up the win in 67 minutes.

`I was nervous at the begin-ning of the match,` he told a supportive crowd. `The first match is never easy so I was trying to be focused on my game.

`I just tried to be relaxed, as relaxed as I can. Can always be better, but I`m ready for the [next] round and excited.

Women`s world number one Aryna Sabalenka opened her campaign with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over rising US talent McCartney Kessler.

Madison Keys, who denied Sabalenka a third straight Australian Open title as she claimed her long awaited first Grand Slam in Melbourne, subdued hard-hitting Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-0 in her first match since then.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff seeded third in their respective draws, both advanced.

Fritz, the 2022 men`s cham-pion, defeated Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante 7-5, 6-3.

Gauff survived 21 doublefaults to claw out a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Japan`s Moyuka Uchijima.-AFP