SportsTennis
Qualifier Hijikata knocks Djokovic out of Paris and ends his hopes of Turin
The world No. 83 came from a set down to beat the seven-time champion 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, on a Wednesday when Zverev, Medvedev, De Minaur and Tiafoe also went out.
Key points
- Rinky Hijikata beat Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Paris Masters second round.
- The defeat means Djokovic cannot qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
- World No. 1 Alexander Zverev also lost, 7-6(5), 6-2 to Lorenzo Musetti.
Novak Djokovic’s season is over. Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata came from a set down to beat the seven-time champion 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday night, a result that also ends the Serbian’s hopes of a place at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Djokovic, seeded 10th, needed at least a semi-final in Paris to stay in the race for the season finale, which runs from 15 to 22 November. He raced through the first set, breaking at 4-2, and looked set to repeat their earlier meetings, all won by Djokovic in straight sets.
How the match turned
Hijikata, ranked 83rd in the world, grew bolder in the second set. Djokovic survived a six-deuce game early on, but Hijikata did not face a single break point in the set, broke Djokovic at 4-3 and served out the set to love. In the decider he saved three break points at 2-1 to stay level, then took the match away late on. Serving at 3-5 to stay alive, Djokovic double-faulted twice to open the game and could not recover.
The Australian finished with 37 winners to Djokovic’s 18 in two hours and 14 minutes. He said he had been struggling with neck pain since the day before. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to take the court today,” Hijikata said. “I think the last few months, I’ve maybe gotten a little bit passive under pressure.”
Before the match the 25-year-old had said: “I feel level wise, this is probably the best season I’ve had in my career so far.” He came through two qualifying rounds in Paris and will meet Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the last 16.
A day of upsets
It was a wild Wednesday at the Paris La Défense Arena. Alexander Zverev, playing his first match as world No. 1, lost 7-6(5), 6-2 to Lorenzo Musetti. “Yeah, I was bad,” the German said. Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev went out 6-4, 6-4 to Ignacio Buse, and eighth seed Alex de Minaur lost to Etcheverry.
Quentin Halys beat seventh seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(9) after Tiafoe wasted four match points. That result sent Arthur Fils to Turin, the first Frenchman to qualify for the ATP Finals since Gael Monfils in 2016.