Three days after claiming his 102nd ATP title at the Beijing tournament, Novak Djokovic suffered an unexpected exit in the first round of the Shanghai Masters 1000 on Friday, October 9. The Serbian tennis star was defeated by the Polish player Hubert Hurkacz in two sets, 6-4 and 6-3. This was the first time Djokovic had been eliminated before the quarterfinals in Shanghai, a tournament where he had previously always advanced at least that far. Hurkacz, ranked 34th in the world, had lost all eight of their previous matches against Djokovic, including encounters at Wimbledon in 2023 and the ATP Finals that same year. However, this victory marked his first win over the Serbian legend in their ninth duel. Djokovic, who had just won his seventh title in Beijing and remained undefeated in the tournament's history, appeared physically drained during the match. At 39, Djokovic has been playing fewer consecutive tournaments since the start of the 2025 season, choosing a more selective schedule to focus on his goal of winning his record 25th Grand Slam title. Djokovic had previously reached at least the quarterfinals in his 11 previous appearances at the Shanghai Masters. He had won the title in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018, and had reached the final in 2024 and the semifinals in 2025. His early exit from this year’s tournament was a significant surprise. Hurkacz, who had reached the final of the ATP 250 Chengdu tournament in September and the semifinals of the ATP 500 Beijing tournament (where he withdrew due to a left thigh injury), showed no signs of physical limitations during the match. Hurkacz will now face either the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (ranked 25th) or the Chinese Zhou Yi (ranked 277th) in the third round. Djokovic is expected to return to competition at the Paris Masters 1000, which runs from November 2 to 8. He has won the tournament seven times in his career and is currently ranked ninth in the "Race," the season ranking that determines the eight players who qualify for the Masters. The world number one, Jannik Sinner, who suffered a right knee injury and is already qualified for the Masters, announced on Tuesday that he would not play again in 2026. This decision gives the ninth place in the "Race" qualification for the prestigious Turin tournament. However, 11 players are currently in a position to surpass Djokovic in Shanghai.