SHANGHAI : Hubert Hurkacz defeated Novak Djokovic for the first time in his career on Friday, sending the four-times champion crashing out of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-4 6-3 second-round victory.
Tenth seed Djokovic arrived in Shanghai fresh from claiming a record seventh China Open title after Australia’s Alex de Minaur retired with a groin injury during Tuesday’s final.
The 24-times Grand Slam champion, whose last Shanghai title came in 2018, had won all eight of his previous meetings with the 29-year-old Pole.
But former world number six Hurkacz delivered a clinical performance, firing 13 aces and 28 winners while keeping his serve largely untroubled to secure victory in one hour and 27 minutes.
Hurkacz, who missed the tournament in 2024 and 2025, extended his winning streak in Shanghai to eight matches, having won the title in 2023. He will face either Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti or China’s Zhou Yi in the third round.
The defeat added to a difficult season for 39-year-old Djokovic, who suffered a shock first-round exit at the U.S. Open, his earliest Grand Slam defeat since the 2006 Australian Open.
ZVEREV MARCHES ON
Top seed Alexander Zverev stayed on course in Shanghai with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory over local favourite Wu Yibing as he pursues the year-end world number one ranking.
The German, currently ranked second in the world, can secure the top spot by the end of the year if he reaches the semi-finals or if his closest challengers Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton lose at any stage of the Masters 1000 tournament.
Jannik Sinner currently leads the rankings, but the Italian ended his season prematurely because of knee inflammation and will lose the ranking points he earned by winning the Vienna Open, Paris Masters and ATP Finals last year.
Zverev’s only concern on an otherwise successful day came at 5-5 in the second set, when the 29-year-old slipped near the baseline and grabbed his left ankle.
The incident briefly raised memories of the serious ankle injury he suffered in the 2022 French Open semi-finals, but Zverev recovered to complete the victory in the ensuing tiebreak. He will next face Frenchman Quentin Halys.
Earlier, U.S. Open runner-up Shelton celebrated his 24th birthday with a 6-3 7-6(6) win over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.
However, Frenchman Adrian Mannarino ended the run of Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli, beating the Italian 6-1 4-6 6-3.
