The Shanghai Masters continues, with players now hunting a place in the last 16. Novak Djokovic has already left the tournament after suffering his first-ever opening-round defeat here, losing 6-4 6-3 to 2023 champion Hubert Hurkacz. The world No. 8 has been spotted travelling back to Athens, where he moved with his family a year ago, according to fans on social media who ran into him.
Djokovic heads home, Shelton falls
Djokovic’s defeat to the Pole means fans will not see him on a tennis court again until next month’s Paris Masters, which begins on November 2. He has confirmed that will be his only tournament for the rest of this season, though he also plans to play the ATP Finals in mid-November if he qualifies, knowing he may not make the cut.
The Serb had won his 102nd career title in Beijing just three days before his Shanghai loss, leaving a very quick turnaround time. Hurkacz, who has not competed in Shanghai since winning the title in 2023, is technically still on an eight-match winning streak at the tournament.
Djokovic isn’t the only top player to fall early. Flavio Cobolli and Andrey Rublev lost their opening matches, and they’ve now been joined by third seed Ben Shelton, who suffered a shock straight-set defeat to world No. 56 Arthur Gea on Sunday. The American, one of the in-form stars of the season and closing in on ATP Finals qualification, lost 7-6(5) 7-6(3) and became the highest-ranked player to lose so far this week.
Alcaraz advances, China Open final set
Carlos Alcaraz started his Shanghai Masters campaign with a win, beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo in his first match here since 2024. The No. 2 seed took to the court sporting a new moustache, as did the rest of his coaching team. The Spaniard later revealed it was something of a “bet” they’d made, and they’d be sticking to it all week.
It’s finals day at the China Open in Beijing, where a home player is into the championship match for the first time, as Qinwen Zheng faces Mirra Andreeva. A former world No. 4, Zheng fell out of the top 160 this summer as she struggled to find form after having elbow surgery last year. She has since enjoyed a huge resurgence, crediting her coach and a “harsh” training block for her revived success.
