Shock Wednesday in Paris: Hijikata stuns Djokovic as Zverev, Medvedev, De Minaur and Tiafoe also fall
Qualifier Rinky Hijikata, ranked 83rd, came from a set down to beat seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters, on a day that also saw Zverev, Medvedev, De Minaur and Tiafoe fall.
Novak Djokovic, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Ch. Caillaud / PsNewz
Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters turned into a day of carnage for the top seeds. World No. 1 Alexander Zverev lost to Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev fell to Ignacio Buse, Alex de Minaur to Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Frances Tiafoe to Quentin Halys after holding four match points. Then Novak Djokovic joined them.
Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, ranked 83rd, came back from a set down to beat the seven-time champion 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round. The defeat ends Djokovic’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin. Hijikata had lost both of their previous meetings in straight sets. He will face Etcheverry in the round of 16.
It ended on a nervy game from Djokovic. Serving to stay in the match at 3-5 in the decider, the Serb opened with two double faults and could not recover. Hijikata broke to win.
A flawless second set
Djokovic controlled the opening set 6-2, and the match looked set to follow the pattern of their meetings in Brisbane and Miami last year. Hijikata then changed it in the second set, where he never faced a break point and won 71% of his service points (22 of 31).
Djokovic had to work much harder on his own serve. He survived an 18-point game with six deuces early in the set, needing six game points to hold. At 3-4 he led 40-30 but lost four of the next five points and was broken on the second break point. Hijikata then served out the set to love, taking the last six points to level the match.
The best season of his career
The win caps what Hijikata, 25, calls the best year of his career. Before the match he said: “I feel level wise, this is probably the best season I’ve had in my career so far”. In 2026 he has set a personal record of 16 wins at tour level. As a qualifier, he reached the fourth round at Indian Wells, where he beat a top 10 player for the first time, and the quarter-finals at Queen’s.
In Paris he came through two qualifying rounds, beating Jaime Faria 6-3, 6-4 and Vit Kopriva 7-6(5), 6-2. He then crushed Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2 in 64 minutes in the first round, converting six of his 11 break points.
No Turin for Djokovic
Djokovic, the record seven-time champion at Bercy, arrived in Paris in an unusual position. He had dropped out of the top 10 to 11th after losing to Jan-Lennard Struff in Basel, and as the tenth seed he had no first-round bye. He needed 2 hours 29 minutes to beat Valentin Vacherot 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday, taking a medical time-out for a shoulder problem in the second set.
He came to Paris needing a deep run to reach the ATP Finals, even if he played it down, and Tiafoe’s loss earlier in the day had kept the door open. This defeat closes it: Djokovic is out of the race for Turin, where the season finale runs from 15 to 22 November.
A day of upsets
Zverev, playing his first match since becoming world No. 1 on Monday, lost 7-6(5), 6-2 to Musetti. The German had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking.
Fourth seed Medvedev lost 6-4, 6-4 to Peru’s Buse, ranked 33rd. Eighth seed De Minaur went down 7-6(2), 6-3 to Etcheverry.
Halys saved four match points to beat seventh seed Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(9), the biggest win of his career. His victory officially sent Arthur Fils to the ATP Finals, the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016. Luca Van Assche also knocked out 15th seed Learner Tien 7-6(4), 6-4.
