Hurkacz Stuns Djokovic as Serbian Exits Shanghai Masters Early

Novak Djokovic’s Shanghai Masters campaign ended abruptly on Friday after Hubert Hurkacz defeated the Serbian tennis star in straight sets, handing the former world number one an early exit just three days after his triumph at the China Open.

Hurkacz, who won the Shanghai title in 2023, recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the 39-year-old Djokovic, using his powerful serve to dominate key moments of the contest.

Djokovic admitted afterwards that he struggled to adapt to the playing conditions in Shanghai.

“I didn’t feel myself on the court,” the Serbian said.

“It’s a super-quick surface, completely different from Beijing. If you lose your serve, it’s enough to lose a match.”

The defeat came shortly after Djokovic secured the China Open title in Beijing, where he remains unbeaten in professional Tour matches.

Against Hurkacz, however, Djokovic found it difficult to settle into the match, appearing physically uncomfortable as he hunched over and squatted between points during the cool Shanghai evening.

The decisive moments came in the second set when Djokovic double-faulted while serving in the fourth game, allowing Hurkacz to break and establish a 3-1 advantage.

The Polish player then held his serve to complete the win after one hour and 28 minutes, recording his first career victory over Djokovic in nine meetings.

Hurkacz will face either Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Chinese wildcard Zhou Yi in the third round.

Djokovic praised his opponent’s serving performance, noting that the Pole struck 13 aces and gave him few opportunities to gain an advantage.

“It’s very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible,” Djokovic said.

“I didn’t adjust, and it was a really tough draw for me to play him in the first match-up.”

Hurkacz entered the tournament after reaching the semi-finals in Beijing, although he ended that match early because of a strained muscle.

“It was a challenging match, always,” Hurkacz said.

“I was pleased with how I performed, how I received in important moments.”

Zverev advances after ankle scare

Top seed Alexander Zverev progressed to the next round after defeating China’s Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in an encounter that featured a worrying moment for the German.

During the 11th game of the second set, Zverev dived for a shot before grimacing and grabbing his left ankle. The incident allowed Wu, ranked 113th in the world, to move ahead 6-5.

Zverev recovered sufficiently to hold serve and take the set into a tie-break. He then capitalised on errors from the Chinese wildcard to secure the victory on his second match point when Wu sent a shot long.

“Credit to him, he was playing amazing tennis,” Zverev told the crowd after the match.

“He hits every ball as hard as he can.”

The 29-year-old German will take on France’s Quentin Halys next. He is also in contention to finish the year as world number one after Jannik Sinner announced he would bring his season to an early close due to injury.

Shelton gets birthday win

Ben Shelton celebrated turning 24 with a determined performance against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, winning 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) to book his place in the third round.

The American third seed will next meet Frenchman Arthur Gea. When asked about his birthday celebrations during an on-court interview, Shelton offered a brief response.

“I hate cake,” he said.

In other matches, French veteran Adrian Mannarino defeated sixth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to set up a clash with Karen Khachanov.

Japan’s Rei Sakamoto, who came through qualifying, also advanced after defeating Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4. He will next face ninth seed Alex de Minaur.

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