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Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz at the Shanghai Masters, just three days after triumphing at the China Open in Beijing.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But, 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.<\/p>\n
The big-serving Hurkacz, winner in 2023 and currently ranked 34th in the world, claimed a 6-4 6-3 victory in 87 minutes.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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 is on a 34-match winning streak.<\/p>\n
That was only his second final of the year following January’s Australian Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz.<\/p>\n
But, having beaten world number two Alexander Zverev and led third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break when the Russian was defaulted on his way to the Beijing final, Djokovic’s Shanghai bid as undone by a single break of serve in both sets against Hurkacz.<\/p>\n
While victory in Beijing boosted his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals, Djokovic, currently ninth in the race to Turin, will now require a strong showing at the Paris Masters in November to break into the top eight.<\/p>\n
Also in Shanghai, Great Britain’s Arthur Fery lost out in a closely-fought three-set contest against former top-10 player Karen Khachanov.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n