Djokovic was bidding to create more history with a standalone record sixth men’s title in Indian Wells.
But, having been given a first-round bye, he fell in his opening match after producing a string of ugly mistakes.
In a performance well below his high standards, Djokovic made 37 unforced errors and only hit 16 winners to mitigate the damage.
“Congratulations to my opponent. It was just a bad day in the office, I guess,” said Djokovic, who has not gone beyond the third round in his past four Indian Wells appearances.
After losing to Italy’s Luca Naldi last year, it was the former world number one’s second successive exit at the hands of a lucky loser.
Djokovic’s return of serve – one of the hallmarks of his unparalleled success – was particularly poor against Van de Zandschulp, who swamped the Serb’s second serve to convert five of eight break point opportunities.
Having recovered from a poor start, it looked as if Djokovic had settled down as he quickly levelled the match.
But more mistakes, which he described as “awful”, allowed Van de Zandschulp to take control of the decider.
Even the return of Britain’s Andy Murray to his coaching team could not prevent a below-par performance.
The pair, who are planning to head together to the Miami Open which follows Indian Wells, will be hoping Djokovic’s problems are not deep-rooted.
Time is clearly catching up with Djokovic, who turns 38 in May, but his performances in Melbourne showed he can still beat most opponents if he is fully fit and motivated.
