Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round defeat to Hubert Hurkacz at the Shanghai Masters, just three days after he won the China Open in Beijing.
The 39-year-old Djokovic ended an 11-month wait for a title when he lifted the 102nd trophy of his illustrious career in Beijing, after Alex de Minaur retired injured from the final. Djokovic received a first-round bye in Shanghai as the tournament’s 10th seed, but he could not carry his form into his second match. Contesting his sixth match in the space of 10 days, he lost to Hurkacz for the first time in nine career meetings with the Pole.
The big-serving Hurkacz, the 2023 champion and currently ranked 34th in the world, claimed a 6-4 6-3 victory in 87 minutes.
Hurkacz praises his opponent
Hurkacz paid tribute to the champion after the match. “It’s a special night. I’ve been playing Novak for like seven years. It’s been unsuccessful but [he has been] such a great champion for so many years,” Hurkacz said.
“He just won Beijing, so it’s a very difficult task to play against him, but also it is a pleasure for me to share a court with him, to play such a legend of the sport.”
Djokovic’s record and title bid
Men’s record 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic claimed a tour-level singles title for the 21st year in a row with his victory in Beijing, where he extended his winning streak to 34 matches. That was only his second final of the year, following his defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final in January.
Djokovic had beaten world number two Alexander Zverev in Beijing and led third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break when the Russian was defaulted on his way to the final. In Shanghai, however, a single break of serve in each set proved enough for Hurkacz to end his run.
Ranking race and what comes next
Victory in Beijing boosted Djokovic’s hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals. He is currently ninth in the race to Turin, so he will need a strong showing at the Paris Masters in November to move into the top eight.
Fery falls in three sets
Elsewhere in Shanghai, Great Britain’s Arthur Fery lost a closely fought three-set contest to former top-10 player Karen Khachanov. Fery, who enjoyed a fairytale run to the Wimbledon semi-finals this year, went down 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) after three and a half hours.