Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters in a dispiriting 6-4 6-3 defeat to Hubert Hurkacz, just three days after successful the China Open.
The 39-year-old had rolled back the years in Beijing to win his 102nd title and first of 2026, but was unable to construct on that momentum as he lost his first match since successful the title after receiving a first-round bye.
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It was a first defeat by former champion Hurkacz, who is enjoying the match for the first time since his 2023 triumph, in 9 conferences.
The Pole fired in 13 aces and 28 winners and was assured on serve as he knocked out four-time winner Djokovic in an hour and 27 minutes, and will now face either Lorenzo Musetti or Zhou Yi in the third spherical.
Djokovic said: “I was not close to what I was playing in Beijing. I’m slightly more tired, not fresh. I didn’t feel myself on the court in terms of feeling the ball. It’s a super quick surface, completely different from Beijing.
“If you lose your serve, it is enough to lose the match, once per set, and that is what occurred. It is very tough to return his serve, virtually unattainable. So yeah, I did not alter and it was a actually robust draw for me, enjoying him in the first match.”
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Djokovic will now flip his consideration to the European indoor swing, with next month’s Paris Masters looming.
Elsewhere French and US Open champion Alexander Zverev remained firmly on observe in his bid to secure the year-end world No 1 rating by seeing off native favorite Wu Yibing 6-4 7-6(4).
The German world No 2 can guarantee he will attain the pinnacle by the finish of the 12 months if he makes the semi-finals or if his nearest challengers Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton lose at any stage of the Masters 1000 match. Jannik Sinner is presently the top-ranked participant, but the Italian ended his season prematurely due to irritation in his knee and will drop the factors he earned for successful the Vienna Open, the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals last 12 months.
Britain’s Arthur Fery suffered a tight three-set defeat to US Open semi-finalist Karen Khachanov, falling 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) in three and a half hours.
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