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Rinky Hijikata produced one of the biggest upsets of the season, beating Novak Djokovic in three sets at the Paris Masters.
Novak Djokovic lost in three sets to Rinky Hijikata (Picture credit: AP)
25-year-old Australian tennis star Rinky Hijikata on Wednesday stunned 10th seed Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Paris Masters, thus ending the legendary Serb’s bid to qualify for the ATP Finals later this month.
Djokovic had defeated Valentin Vacherot in three sets on Tuesday and had come in as the favourite for the second-round match. But this time he fell to Hijikata in another three-set encounter.
Speaking to the media after the match, Djokovic said that his plan for the next few weeks was to ‘just rest’.
“I am looking forward to it,” Djokovic added.
After sailing through the first set, the Serb soon found himself in a battle.
Hijikata broke Djokovic in the eighth game of the second set and held serve to take the match into a decider.
The third set remained tightly contested until Djokovic was broken while serving at 3-all, giving his unfancied opponent a chance to close out the match. Hijikata seized the chance, breaking again to seal a brilliant win.
The seven-time Paris champion admitted he was disappointed to lose, especially after feeling he had dominated the opening set.
But Djokovic heaped praise on Hijikata for the way he responded.
“He was switched on; I was not serving as well and he was just playing out of his mind, honestly. He wasn’t missing and keeping the ball low and just a terrific performance,” Djokovic said.
“He played really amazing tennis and it was my fault to let the control of the match go,” Djokovic added.
The former world number one followed top-ranked Alexander Zverev out of the Paris Masters, as a string of upsets marked the day’s action.
Daniil Medvedev suffered a straight-sets loss to Ignacio Buse, while Alex de Minaur also went down in straight sets to Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Learner Tien was defeated by Luca van Assche, without taking a set as well, while Frances Tiafoe lost a three-set thriller to Quentin Halys.
Casper Ruud rounded off the list of winners with a straight-sets win against Rafael Jodar.
Quick Answers
Ask News18After dropping the first set, Rinky Hijikata fought back by breaking Djokovic in the eighth game of the second set to force a decider. In the third set, Hijikata broke Djokovic again while serving at 3-all and capitalized on the opportunity to seal the upset victory.
Ask News18November 04, 2026, 23:40 IST
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