Tennis: three days after his triumph in Beijing, Novak Djokovic breaks down at the start of Shanghai

Three days after winning the 102nd title of his career in Beijing, Serbian Novak Djokovic (8th in the world) lost on Friday upon entering the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. The man with 24 Grand Slam titles, in the race to snatch one of the eight tickets for the end-of-season Masters in Turin (November 15-22), lost 6-4, 6-3 in the second round against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (34th). At 39, Djokovic has lost the habit of stringing together tournaments since the start of the 2025 season, when he began to become more selective about his programming to give himself the best chance of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Combative in the first set, the former boss of the circuit let the last games of the match slip away, after conceding his serve at 6-4, 2-1 for Hurkacz. The native of Belgrade did not inherit an easy draw in Shanghai, since his opponent reached the final of the ATP 250 in Chengdu in September and then reached the semi-finals of the ATP 500 in Beijing, where he had retired due to an injury to his left thigh.

Winner of the Shanghai Masters 1000 in 2023, Hurkacz hardly seemed hampered in his movements on Friday. He will face the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (25th) or the Chinese Zhou Yi (277th) in the third round. Djokovic should return to competition at the Masters 1000 in Paris (November 2-8), which he has won seven times in his career.

He is currently ranked ninth in the "Race", the season ranking which determines the eight players qualified for the Masters. World number 1 Jannik Sinner, injured in his right knee and already qualified for the Masters, announced Tuesday that he would not play again in 2026, which gives ninth place to the “Race” qualifying for the prestigious Turin tournament. However, eleven players are in a position to overtake Djokovic in Shanghai.