Hurkacz ends eight-match drought to knock Djokovic out of Shanghai

Eight times Hubert Hurkacz had walked off court beaten by Novak Djokovic. The ninth time, at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, the Pole finally turned the rivalry around, winning 6-4, 6-3 in 87 minutes to send the 10th seed out in his opening match.

It is a sharp reversal for Djokovic, who arrived in Shanghai fresh from lifting his seventh Beijing title earlier in the week. Instead of a deep run at a venue where he has won four times, he leaves after a single match, his earliest exit at the event.

A serving clinic from the 2023 champion

Hurkacz, who won the Shanghai title in 2023, built the win on his serve. According to match statistics reported by ESPN and Sofascore, he hit 13 aces, landed 70 per cent of his first serves and won 82 per cent of the points behind them. Djokovic, by contrast, found only 54 per cent of first serves and won 67 per cent of those points.

The Pole held every service game and faced only two break points all match. Both came early, in the third game of the opening set, and once he survived that moment Djokovic never found another opening on the Hurkacz serve.

The result had been on his mind. After his first-round win, in which he fired 19 aces, Hurkacz had spoken openly about the challenge ahead. "It's on my list to play some good tennis against him and get a win," he said. "I need to serve well, play well from the baseline and return well." On Friday, he did all three.

Beijing fatigue and the Turin race

Djokovic had little time to recover from Beijing, where he played on three consecutive days before winning the final when Alex de Minaur retired injured. Yahoo Sports noted that the Serbian looked short of energy against an opponent who gave him almost nothing to work with.

The defeat also carries consequences for the season finale. Djokovic is reportedly ninth in the race to the ATP Finals in Turin, just outside the eight qualifying places. The race has opened up since Jannik Sinner ended his season with a knee injury, but every point that slips away in Shanghai makes the final weeks more complicated for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Zverev outhits De Minaur to reach first Shanghai semi-final since 2019

A day of shocks in Shanghai

Djokovic was not the only big name to fall on a chaotic Friday. Sixth seed Flavio Cobolli lost 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to Adrian Mannarino, qualifier Rei Sakamoto beat 23rd seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, and Chinese wildcard Yi Zhou knocked out 24th seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(1).

Top seed Alexander Zverev avoided the trap, beating wildcard Yibing Wu 6-4, 7-6(4), while third seed Ben Shelton saw off Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6).

Hurkacz now meets Zhou, ranked 277th in the world, in the third round, with the home crowd certain to be behind the 21-year-old after the biggest win of his career.