Novak Djokovic ousted by Ivan Ljubicic at Indian Wells

Second-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Wednesday, upset 7-5 6-3 by big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic in the fourth round.

Djokovic lost his serve in the sixth game of the second set and sent a forehand service return long to hand Ljubicic victory in one hour 44 minutes.                                           

Ljubicic, the 20th seed, fired down 13 aces to record only his second win against Djokovic in seven meetings.

In the quarter-finals, the six-foot four-inch Croat will meet 21st seed Juan Monaco of Argentina who beat Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 3-6 6-2 6-1 earlier on Wednesday. 

Djokovic's early departure followed the premature exit on Tuesday of world number one and three-times champion Roger Federer, who was suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.