Novak’s Shanghai Masters campaign came to an end in the second round, as he was defeated by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-3.
The match lasted one hour and 27 minutes, with fatigue following his title-winning run in Beijing seemingly taking its toll on Novak’s performance.
Hurkacz secured his first career victory over Novak in their head-to-head meetings.
Novak missed two break points in the third game of the opening set, after which both players held serve until the closing stages. Serving at 4-5, the Serbian faced pressure in the 10th game and allowed Hurkacz to convert his second break point, handing the Pole the opening set 6-4. Immediately afterwards, Novak turned to his team and said that his right arm and shoulder were trembling and that he did not know what to do.
Novak managed to stay with Hurkacz after returning to the court, but the Pole broke serve in the fourth game of the second set and consolidated the break to move 4-1 ahead. It was clear that the Serbian was not feeling well, as reflected in his body language. Hurkacz continued to capitalise on the situation and closed out the set 6-3 to seal the victory.
Novak had reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year, but was unable to match that result this time around.
His next appearance will come at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, scheduled for October 21-24. It will be Novak’s third consecutive appearance at the prestigious event.
Photo: Profimedia
