SHANGHAI — Just three days after winning the 102nd title of his career in Beijing, Novak Djokovic suffered an unexpected elimination in his debut at the Shanghai Masters 1000. The Serbian, eighth in the world, fell this Friday 6-4, 6-3 against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, in a match that lasted an hour and a half.
Hurkacz, champion of the tournament in 2023 and affected by injuries in recent seasons, beat the winner of 24 Grand Slam titles, who once again showed physical difficulties, as had already happened during their first matches in Beijing.
The defeat also complicates Djokovic’s aspirations to compete in the ATP Finals, scheduled for November 15-22 in Turin, Italy, where the eight best players of the season will compete.
The Serbian currently occupies ninth place in the annual ranking, known as racewhich counts the results obtained during 2026. The withdrawal of Italian Jannik Sinner, world number one, due to a knee injury opened an opportunity for Djokovic, although other players can still surpass him in the rankings with their results in Shanghai.
“I would like to play it, but I only plan to play in Paris, so we’ll see,” Djokovic said when referring to his schedule for the end of the season.
The former world number one acknowledged that facing Hurkacz in the first round represented a considerable challenge. “It’s very hard,” he noted, while explaining that it was enough to lose his serve once in each set to be eliminated.
Despite the setback, the Serbian positively valued his time in Beijing and expressed his intention to rest before facing the indoor season.
Since the beginning of 2025, Djokovic has reduced the number of tournaments he competes in to manage his efforts and maintain his chances of winning a historic 25th Grand Slam title.
Zverev advances with difficulties
The German Alexander Zverev, one of the main contenders for the title in Shanghai, also had to work hard to overcome his debut. The world number three defeated the Chinese Wu Yibing, invited by the organization, 6-4 and 7-6 (7/4).
«He has played fantastic tennis. “He hits the ball very hard,” acknowledged Zverev, who highlighted the difficulty of controlling the exchanges given the powerful game of the local tennis player. In the third round he will face Frenchman Quentin Halys.
Among the players who advanced to the next phase are the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo and the Spanish Alejandro Davidovich, as well as the Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe and the Australian Alex de Miñaur.
Tiafoe will be Davidovich’s next rival in the Chinese tournament.
