Djokovic suffers surprise Hurkacz loss in Shanghai

Novak Djokovic suffered an unexpected second-round defeat to Hubert Hurkacz at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament. This came just three days after Djokovic's victory at the China Open in Beijing. The 39-year-old Serbian had finally achieved his 102nd title after Alex de Minaur's injury retirement from the China Open final. However, in his sixth match within a span of ten days, Djokovic lost for the first time in nine encounters against the Polish player.

Big-serving Hurkacz, ranked 34th in the world and a 2023 champion, overwhelmed Djokovic with a 6-4, 6-3 win in just 87 minutes. Hurkacz commented, "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. 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 win in Beijing marked his 21st tour-level singles title consecutively, as he is currently on a 34-match winning streak. This included victories over world number two Alexander Zverev and leading third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break before Medvedev was defaulted in Beijing. Djokovic's Shanghai performance, however, hindered his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals.

He currently sits ninth in the race to the Turin event. In another Shanghai match, Arthur Fery of Great Britain narrowly lost to former top-10 player Karen Khachanov in a three-set contest lasting three-and-a-half hours. Fery, who had a remarkable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals this year, was defeated 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2).