Hurkacz hands Djokovic early Shanghai exit
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz beat Novak Djokovic for the first time as he dumped the four-time champion out of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-4 6-3 second-round victory.
No.10 seed Djokovic arrived in Shanghai fresh from winning a record seventh China Open crown after Australia's Alex de Minaur retired with a groin injury in the final.
The 24-time grand slam champion, whose last Shanghai title came in 2018, had an 8-0 record against 29-year-old Hurkacz.
But the Pole, a former world No.6, produced a clinical display, firing 13 aces and 28 winners while conceding little on serve to beat Djokovic in one hour and 27 minutes in his first Shanghai appearance since capturing the title in 2023.
Hurkacz, who missed the tournament in 2024 and 2025, extended his winning streak in Shanghai to eight matches and now faces either Italy's Lorenzo Musetti or China's Zhou Yi.
The defeat marked the latest setback in a testing season for the 39-year-old Serbian, who suffered a shock first-round exit at the US Open, his earliest grand slam defeat since the 2006 Australian Open.
"I was not close to what I was playing in Beijing," Djokovic said. "I'm slightly more tired, not fresh.
"I didn't feel myself on the court in terms of feeling the ball. It's a super quick surface, completely different from Beijing.
"If you lose your serve, it is enough to lose the match, once per set, and that is what happened. It is very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible. So yeah, I did not adjust and it was a really tough draw for me, playing him in the first match."
Djokovic will now turn his attention to the European indoor swing, with next month's Paris Masters looming. He is ninth in the race for a spot at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
"I am planning on only playing in Paris, so let's see. Hopefully I can have a good result there," he added.
