Hurkacz Beats Djokovic for First Win in Shanghai Masters

Hubert Hurkacz defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai on Friday, October 9, 2026. The Polish tennis player secured his first victory in nine career meetings with the Serbian champion, advancing to the third round after an 87-minute match. According to Sportowe Fakty and Sport.pl, Hurkacz overcame the 24-time Grand Slam champion without dropping a set.

The 29-year-old Pole had previously lost all eight encounters against Djokovic, making the result a significant milestone in their head-to-head record. Hurkacz entered the tournament following a strong run in Asia, reaching the final in Chengdu and the semifinals in Beijing. His Beijing campaign ended with a retirement against Alex de Minaur because of an adductor problem, raising questions about his fitness ahead of the Shanghai event.

Those concerns eased when Hurkacz defeated Australia's James Duckworth 6-3, 7-6(4) in the first round. Djokovic, seeded 10th, received a first-round bye and arrived in Shanghai after winning the tournament in Beijing, his 102nd career title according to Sportowe Fakty.

The opening set against Djokovic featured several closely contested service games. Hurkacz faced two break points at 1-1 but held serve, maintaining his composure against the experienced Serbian and preventing him from establishing an early advantage. At 5-4, Hurkacz put Djokovic under pressure while the Serbian served to stay in the set. The Pole missed his first set point with a forehand error but converted his second opportunity with an effective return, taking the opening set 6-4.

Hurkacz carried that momentum into the second set, applying pressure on Djokovic's serve and securing two breaks to establish a 4-1 lead. Although Djokovic held serve to narrow the deficit, the Polish player maintained control through powerful serving and aggressive play from the baseline and net. Sportowe Fakty reported that Hurkacz finished the match with 13 aces, 32 winners and 19 unforced errors. He was not broken during the contest and converted two of his five break-point opportunities.

Djokovic recorded two aces, 11 winners and 19 unforced errors, according to the same report. The Serbian struggled to counter Hurkacz's serve and was unable to recover from the early deficit in the second set. Hurkacz sealed the victory by holding serve in the final game and converting his first match point with a winning serve.

The result also completed his collection of career victories over the three members of tennis's celebrated Big Three: Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Hurkacz had previously beaten Federer at Wimbledon in 2021 and Nadal at the Rome ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 2023, according to Sport Interia. His Shanghai victory added Djokovic to that list and kept his campaign alive at the tournament he won in 2023.

In the third round, scheduled for Sunday, October 11, Hurkacz is set to face the winner of the match between China's Yi Zhou and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti, according to Sportowe Fakty.