Hubert Hurkacz made it ninth time’s the charm after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the Shanghai Open on Friday.
Hurkacz came into their second-round contest with a 0-8 record against Djokovic, although the Pole has run the 24-time major winner close on multiple occasions.
Following his remarkable China Open success on Tuesday, question marks were raised about whether Djokovic would be able to recover in time for the Masters 1000 event.
The 39-year-old may not have been best pleased to have the big-serving Hurkacz across the net from him in his opening match, and so it proved to be.
Hurkacz, who reached the final of the Chengdu Open and then backed it up with a semi-final run in Beijing, took a tight first set 6-4, as the Serbian made it clear he was not in the best shape physically.
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The former world No 6 was in no mood to be charitable early in the second set as he broke the veteran and then used his booming serve to give himself daylight between him and his opponent.
Hurkacz had chances to go up a double break in the second set but the former world No 1, whose tank appeared to be emptying, hung tough and played with wanton abandon to keep the scoreline respectable.
The 29-year-old served his way to victory to secure a commanding 6-4, 6-3 win, though. So, how much prize money and ranking points did Djokovic pocket after his short stay in Shanghai?
Djokovic made it to the semi-finals of last year’s tournament but after falling in round two, he lost 400 points and gained 30.
In regard to prize money, he earns £27,288 but the main thing is that he has dropped three places in the ATP Tour rankings to 11th, and in the Race, he is ninth on 2,480.
