Novak Djokovic will miss the ATP Finals for just the second time in the last 20 years.
Richard PagliaroNovember 4, 20263 minute read
By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Photo credit: Screen Shot
Playing for a trip to Turin, Novak Djokovic ran into a roving road block in Paris today.
Aussie qualifier Rinky Hijikata reeled off four games in a row stunning Djokovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the Rolex Paris Masters round of 16 for the first time.
World No. 83 Hijikata is the lowest-ranked man to beat the Grand Slam king this season.
It’s a shocking loss that spells the end of Djokovic’s season and, quite possibly, the end of an era.
The 39-year-old Serbian superstar needed to reach at least the Paris semifinals in order to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. Today’s upset means Djokovic will miss the ATP Finals for just the second time in the last 20 years.
Seven-time Paris champion Djokovic carried a tournament-record 51 wins onto court, but Hijikata looked to be the far fresher player on pivotal points. Hijikata won 14 of 17 trips to net, including some timely serve-and-volley successes, and belted 41 winners, 14 more than Djokovic.
The Grand Slam king has battled health issues this season and looked lethargic at times today.
Hijikata’s upset win sends him into his second ATP Masters 1000 round of 16 this season following his run at Indian Wells.
A wild Court Centrale win came hours after world No. 24 Lorenzo Musetti toppled world No. 1 Alexander Zverev, 7-6(5), 6-2, for his fourth win in six meetings vs. the former Olympic gold medal champion.
Gold medal champion Djokovic, who had swept all four prior sets vs. Hijikata, broke to open this match and sped to a one-set lead.
Adapting proactive court positioning in the second set, Hijikata began trying to take his forehand on the rise more frequently and applying his net skills.
The 25-year-old Aussie broke for a 5-3 second-set lead then served out the set at love.
Down 1-2 in the decider, the Aussie dug in and denied three break points, including pasting a forehand volley off the sideline, in a stirring hold for 2-All.
Struggling at times to find finishing power on his forehand, Djokovic betrayed his own case double faulting to face break point in the seventh game. The former No. 1 jerked a backhand wide gifting the break and a 4-3 lead to the man in black.
An Australian Open doubles champion, Hijikata showed his net skills on a strong serve-and-volley that helped him back up the break for 5-3.
On his second match point, Hijikata read a second serve and roped a forehand return winner down the line sealing his biggest singles win in two hours, 14 minutes.
Hijikata will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who knocked off Aussie Alex de Minaur, for a quarterfinal spot. The winner of the Hijikata vs. Etcheverry match will face either Musetti or Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the quarterfinals.
