Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round defeat against Hubert Hurkacz at the Shanghai Masters, just three days after triumphing at the China Open in Beijing.
Djokovic, 39, ended an 11-month wait to win the 102nd title of his illustrious career after Alex de Minaur withdrew injured in the China Open final.
But, playing his sixth match in the space of 10 days, Djokovic lost to Hurkacz for the first time in nine career meetings with the Pole.
Big serve Hurkacz, winner in 2023 and currently ranked 34th in the world, cruised to a 6-4 6-3 victory in 87 minutes.
“It’s a special night. I’ve been playing against Novak for about seven years. It hasn’t been successful but (he’s 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 it’s also a pleasure for me to share a court with him, to face such a legend of the sport.”
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, won a tour-level singles title for the 21st consecutive year with his victory in Beijing, where he is on a 34-match winning streak.
It was only his second final of the year following January’s Australian Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
But after beating world number two Alexander Zverev and trailing third seed Daniil Medvedev by a set and a break when the Russian was sent off en route to the Beijing final, Djokovic’s Shanghai bid was undone by a single break of serve in both sets against Hurkacz.
While his victory in Beijing boosted his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals, Djokovic, currently ninth in the race in Turin, will now need a strong performance at the Paris Masters in November to crack the top eight.
Also in Shanghai, Britain’s Arthur Fery lost in a tight three-set match to former top 10 player Karen Khachanov.
Fery, who had a fairytale ride 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.
Gn sports
