NO DJOKING

Novak Djokovic often bounces the ball more than a dozen times before serving, and the tedious ritual may have cost him a match Friday.

The defending champion at the Sony Ericsson Open went into a funk after being warned for taking too much time between points, then blew a third-set lead to lose his opening match.

Qualifier Kevin Anderson, a 6-foot-7 former NCAA doubles champion at Illinois, beat the third-ranked Djokovic 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4.

Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title at this year's Australian Open and was coming off a title at Indian Wells last week. But he struggled from the start against Anderson and was rattled by the warning from the chair umpire.

Serving at 2-0 in the third set, Djokovic won the next point after the warning to reach deuce, then lost 13 points in a row. Jeers from the crowd further agitated him, and by the time Djokovic collected himself, Anderson was up a break at 3-2.

This early loss in Miami will damage Djokokvic's chances of  overtaking Nadal this summer. Last year , he won Miami. The points he earned at Miami last year [winner] will be replaced by this year's points [second round].

Another qualifier, Benjamin Becker, had no luck against second-seeded Rafael Nadal, who won 7-5, 6-2. No. 7 David Nalbandian lost to Xavier Malisse 6-1, 6-4.