Hurkacz Beats Djokovic for the First Time

Hubert Hurkacz of Poland beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6⁠–⁠4, 6⁠–⁠3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Friday, 9 October, his first win over Djokovic in nine meetings (ATP Tour; BBC Sport). The Shanghai Masters is one of the men's tour's Masters 1000 events, the level just below the four Grand Slam tournaments (ATP Tour).

The loss came three days after Djokovic won the China Open in Beijing, the 102nd title of his career, when his opponent in the final, Alex de Minaur, retired injured (BBC Sport; Sportsnet). Friday's match was Djokovic's sixth in ten days (ATP Tour; BBC Sport). Djokovic, 39, has won a men's record 24 Grand Slam titles (BBC Sport). He was the tenth seed in Shanghai, meaning the organisers ranked him tenth among the players in the draw, and he did not have to play in the first round (BBC Sport).

Hurkacz, 29, is ranked 34th in the world and won the Shanghai title in 2023 (BBC Sport; ATP Tour). He had not played the tournament since that win, and Friday's victory was his eighth match in a row won in Shanghai (ATP Tour). He beat James Duckworth of Australia in the first round, and earlier in this run of events in China he had reached the final of the Chengdu Open (ATP Tour).

The early moment that mattered came in the third game. Djokovic had two break points, chances to win a game on Hurkacz's serve, and Hurkacz saved both (ATP Tour; novakdjokovic.com). Both players then won their own service games until Djokovic served at 4⁠–⁠5, and Hurkacz took that game on his second break point to win the first set 6⁠–⁠4 (novakdjokovic.com).

After the first set, Djokovic told his team that his right arm and shoulder were trembling and that he did not know what to do, according to his own website (novakdjokovic.com). Hurkacz broke serve again in the fourth game of the second set and moved 4⁠–⁠1 ahead (novakdjokovic.com). He won one game on Djokovic's serve in each set, known as a break of serve, and that was enough (BBC Sport).

Hurkacz is known for a big serve (BBC Sport; ATP Tour). He won 82 per cent of the points when his first serve went in, 36 of 44 (ATP Tour). The match lasted 87 minutes (BBC Sport).

"If you lose your serve, it is enough to lose the match, once per set, and that is what happened," Djokovic said. "It is very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible" (AP via Sportsnet). He added that it had been "a really tough draw for me, playing him in the first match" (AP via Sportsnet).

"It's a special night. I've been playing Novak for like seven years, so it's been unsuccessful but [he has been] such a great champion for so many years," Hurkacz said (ATP Tour). He said he had felt some nerves towards the end: "It's not my first time leading by a break in a set against Novak so I was trying to stay focused on my things" (ATP Tour).

The win also put Hurkacz in a small group. The ATP said he became the fourth player to beat each of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic at least once on hard courts, after Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev (ATP Tour).

For Djokovic, the loss matters for the end of the season. He is ninth in the race to Turin, the points table that decides the eight players who qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals, and the BBC said he will now need a strong showing at the Paris Masters in November to break into the top eight (BBC Sport; ATP Tour). His next appearance is the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event in Riyadh from 21 to 24 October, according to his website (novakdjokovic.com).

Hurkacz plays Zhou Yi of China, who entered as a wildcard, meaning the organisers gave him a place in the draw, in the third round; Zhou beat Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 7⁠–⁠6, 3⁠–⁠6, 7⁠–⁠6 later on Friday (ATP Tour; ESPN). ESPN lists that match for Sunday, 11 October, at 1:30 p.m. in Shanghai, which is 1:30 a.m. ET (ESPN).