Djokovic loses match and wins some hearts

A star was born Sunday in the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, and it wasn’t the left-handed guy in the pirate pants and the bandanna.

Even though he is only 20, Rafael Nadal was delivered long ago into the minds and hearts of tennis fans. He has already won two French Opens and close to $10 million, is ranked No. 2 in the world and considered to be the only player currently residing on the same planet as Roger Federer. So the only surprise in his 6-2, 7-5 victory in the men’s final was that it had been nine months since he won a tournament. Call it Nadal’s pregnant pause.

The surprise was the other guy, a 19-year-old with little name recognition and a No. 10 ranking that is as surprising as the results over the last two years that have given him that spot.

Welcome to the world of big headlines, Novak Djokovic.

It was a perfect day for tennis. The crowd was 14,525 in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, putting the event over the 300,000 mark for the first time, with a 12-day total of 303,398 that marks the first 300,000-plus attendance for any tennis event outside the Grand Slams.

And Djokovic did just what he was expected to do. He lost.

But he did more. In how he lost and how he responded to losing, fans in attendance or watching on TV saw this Serb move well past their image of an unknown with an unpronounceable name.

In the first set, he started predictably. Stiff, nervous, overwhelmed.

“It was my first Masters Series final, first final of a really bigger tournament,” he said afterward.

Nadal won 13 of the first 14 points, lost only three points on his serve and took the first set in 29 minutes. Djokovic kept hitting to Nadal’s forehand, which is like letting Tiger tee it up on the fairway. Nadal ran down Djokovic’s drop shots, passed him when he dared come to the net and always had one more swing in the long rallies.

You could almost feel the rustle in the crowd. For this, we paid hundreds of dollars?

You could almost feel the pacing in the tournament office. We gave them a Daniela Hantuchova-Svetlana Kuznetsova women’s final and now this?

But as Nadal served at 1-2 in the second set, things turned. It was 48 minutes into the match and Djokovic had a break point. Nadal saved it with a high-kicking first serve. But quickly, the Serb had another, and this time, to save it, it took two huge forehands from Nadal, the kind that three other people on the face of the Earth can hit, and their names are Federer, Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez.

Now the fans were leaning forward in their seats. This was some drama, some fight. This could also lead to more tennis, like perhaps a third set. For ticket buyers, this is always good.

Djokovic got a third break point with a big forehand of his own, and Nadal, coasting previously, was now working up a sweat. A long rally ensued, and finally, Djokovic, losing patience first, tried a drop shot that failed and Nadal served out the game.

In both his 3-4 and 4-5 service games, Nadal got it to 40-15 but Djokovic fought back to deuce. Now, the crowd was seeing a fight. Now, those ticket prices didn’t seem so steep.

Nadal, of course, got that look in his eye at 5-5 and the break came on his second chance when Djokovic came in behind a less-than-commendable approach and Nadal took his backhand cross court and past him. Djokovic walked to his sideline chair, tapping his forehead with his racket. Translation: What was I thinking?

Still, Djokovic never stopped fighting. Nadal served for the set, got it to 40-love, and then lost the next two points before watching in obvious relief as Djokovic’s forehand floated long to end the match.

Next was the awards ceremony, and a chance to hear from Nadal, as well as this new face with the big heart. This time, it was Djokovic winning in straight sets.

He was called out first, given his check for $250,000 -- half of Nadal’s take -- presented a trophy by two-time Indian Wells winner Boris Becker, and handed the microphone.

“This is my first big speech in big tournament,” Djokovic said, “and it is honor to receive trophy from big legend such as Boris Becker. When my mother was giving me the milk, I was watching Boris at Wimbledon.”

The crowd roared. Senior citizen Becker, 39, smiled broadly, and Djokovic finished perfectly, praising Nadal, saying how happy he was that his efforts at Indian Wells had put him in the top 10, and then playing to the tendency of all crowds to hate long speeches.

“That’s enough,” he said. “I hope to see you next year.”

Djokovic had lost the match and won the show. In one set and one ceremony, he had shown he is a good player and a likable person. Tennis thrives on both.

Bill Dwyre can be reached at bill.dwyre@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.