SHANGHAI — Hubert Hurkacz stunned Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in 87 minutes at the Shanghai Masters to advance to the third round, handing the 39-year-old his first defeat in nine career meetings just three days after his triumph at the China Open in Beijing.
The big-serving Pole, the 2023 Shanghai champion and currently ranked 34th in the world, broke Djokovic once in each set after Djokovic had received a first-round bye as the tournament's 10th seed. Contesting his sixth match in the space of 10 days, Djokovic was undone by a single break of serve in both sets. "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."
The loss halted momentum from Beijing, where Djokovic ended an 11-month wait to lift the 102nd title of his career after Alex de Minaur retired injured in the China Open final. The men's record 24-time Grand Slam champion claimed a tour-level singles title for the 21st year in a row and extended his winning streak in Beijing 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, a run that included a win over world No. 2 Alexander Zverev and a semifinal where he led third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break when the Russian was defaulted.
The Beijing victory had boosted his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals, but Djokovic remains ninth in the race to Turin and will now require a strong showing at the Paris Masters in November to break into the top eight. The result comes after Djokovic's seventh Beijing title earlier this week. Also in Shanghai, Great Britain's Arthur Fery, who achieved a fairytale run to the Wimbledon semifinals this year, fell to former top-10 player Karen Khachanov 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2) after three-and-a-half hours.