Hubert Hurkacz Stuns Djokovic in Shanghai

Hubert Hurkacz finally got Novak Djokovic. The Pole beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 on Friday night in the second round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, his first win over the Serbian in nine career meetings, according to the ATP Tour.

That is a big one for both guys. Djokovic had just won his 102nd career title in Beijing earlier this week, and he had never lost his opening match in 12 trips to Shanghai, per Tennis Now. Hurkacz, the 2023 Shanghai champion, is now on an eight-match winning streak at this event.

The serve did the work

Hurkacz served like a guy who knew exactly what he had to do. He fired 13 aces against two double faults, won 82 percent of his first-serve points (36 of 44), and saved both break points he faced, both in the third game. After that he was in control.

He grabbed the first set by jumping on a Djokovic second serve with an inside-out forehand return, then broke for 3-1 in the second when Djokovic double-faulted on break point. A rainbow lob winner made it 5-2, and he closed it out with a love hold in one hour, 27 minutes.

"It's a special night," Hurkacz said. "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."

Djokovic ran out of gas

Djokovic did not hide from it. This was his sixth match in 10 days after beating Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur on the way to the Beijing title.

"I wasn't close to what I was playing in Beijing. I'm slightly more tired, not fresh," Djokovic said, per Tennis Now. "It's very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible, he was serving big."

The ATP says his next scheduled event is the Rolex Paris Masters in November. The 39-year-old sits ninth in the Race to Turin, so he is still in the hunt for the Nitto ATP Finals.

A healthy Hurkacz is dangerous

The wild part is that Hurkacz retired from his Beijing semifinal against de Minaur with an adductor injury just days ago. He also reached the Chengdu final a week before that. He looked like the fresher player all night, and the win made him just the fourth player with hard-court wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, joining Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Zverev.

Next up is Lorenzo Musetti or home wild card Zhou Yi in the third round. If Hurkacz keeps serving like this on a fast Shanghai court, nobody in that section of the draw is going to want to see him. Another title run here is very much on the table.