Shanghai: Novak Djokovic’s winning run came to an abrupt halt at the Shanghai Masters as the Serbian suffered a straight-sets defeat to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, just three days after winning the China Open in Beijing.
Hurkacz, the 2023 Shanghai champion currently ranked 34th in the world, secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 87 minutes to register his first win over Djokovic in nine career meetings.
The 39-year-old Djokovic had recently ended an 11-month wait for a title by claiming the 102nd trophy of his career in Beijing, where Australia’s Alex de Minaur retired injured during the final. The victory also extended Djokovic’s remarkable record of winning at least one tour-level singles title in each of the past 21 years.
However, the Serbian was unable to maintain that momentum in Shanghai after playing six matches in 10 days. Hurkacz capitalised on a break of serve in each set to secure the victory against the record 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“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,” he added.
Djokovic had produced an impressive campaign in Beijing, defeating world number two Alexander Zverev and progressing past third seed Daniil Medvedev, who was defaulted after Djokovic had taken a set and a break lead.
The Beijing triumph was Djokovic’s second final appearance of the year, following his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final in January. It also strengthened his prospects of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Currently ninth in the ATP Race to Turin, Djokovic will need a strong performance at the Paris Masters in November to move into the top eight and secure qualification for the year-end tournament.
Elsewhere at the Shanghai Masters, Britain’s Arthur Fery narrowly lost to former world top-10 player Karen Khachanov in a gruelling three-set encounter. Khachanov prevailed 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2) after three-and-a-half hours of play.
