Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz at the Shanghai Masters, just three days after winning the China Open in Beijing.
The 39-year-old Djokovic ended an 11-month wait to lift the 102nd title of his illustrious career after Alex de Minaur retired injured from the China Open final. Djokovic received a first-round bye in Shanghai as the tournament’s 10th seed.
However, contesting his sixth match in the space of 10 days, Djokovic lost to Hurkacz for the first time in nine career meetings with the Pole. The big-serving Hurkacz, the 2023 winner who is currently ranked 34th in the world, claimed a 6-4 6-3 victory in 87 minutes.
“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 Form and Title Race
The men’s record 24-time Grand Slam champion claimed a tour-level singles title for the 21st year in a row with his victory in Beijing, where he was on a 34-match winning streak. That was only his second final of the year, following his January Australian Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic had beaten world number two Alexander Zverev on his way to the Beijing final. He also led third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break when the Russian was defaulted. In Shanghai, however, a single break of serve in each set proved enough for Hurkacz to end his run.
Victory in Beijing boosted Djokovic’s hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals. He is currently ninth in the race to Turin and will need a strong showing at the Paris Masters in November to break into the top eight.
Fery Falls in Three Sets
Also in Shanghai, Great Britain’s Arthur Fery lost a closely contested three-set match to former top-10 player Karen Khachanov. Fery, who achieved a fairytale run to the Wimbledon semi-finals this year, was beaten 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) after three-and-a-half hours.