For only the second time in 20 seasons, Novak Djokovic has failed to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals after suffering a second-round exit at the Paris Masters.
The 39-year-old needed to reach at least the semi-finals to keep his hopes of securing a place at the season-ending tournament in Turin alive. A record seven-time champion in Paris, Djokovic made a strong start against 25-year-old Australian Rinky Hijikata, winning the opening set. However, the world No. 83 fought back to take the second set and maintained his momentum in the decider.
Djokovic, who appeared to be struggling physically, eventually lost the match 6-2, 3-6, 3-6 in two hours and 13 minutes. The Serbian admitted his frustration after the loss. “Disappointment, obviously, losing a match that I felt like I was dominating for a set and a few games,” Djokovic said.
“Then he was switched on. I wasn’t serving as well in the second set. He was just playing out of his mind, honestly. He was not missing, keeping the ball low. It was a terrific performance. “Nobody loves losing. It’s just another match, but I should’ve won this match. I played well in the first set and then completely lost control.”
The defeat means Djokovic has missed out on the ATP Finals for only the second time in the past 20 seasons while fit. He also failed to qualify for the 2017 edition. Despite reaching the final of the Australian Open and the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Djokovic has not made the quarter-finals of any ATP Masters 1000 event this year. With two places still available at the season-ending championship, Djokovic's exit leaves the door open for the remaining contenders, including 12th-placed Taylor Fritz and 13th-placed Tommy Paul.Frances Tiafoe's chances, meanwhile, were dealt a blow earlier on Wednesday when he lost 6-3 1-6 7-6 (11-9) to Frenchman Quentin Halys. Tiafoe's defeat also secured Arthur Fils' qualification for the ATP Finals. He will become the first Frenchman to compete at the tournament since Gael Monfils in 2016.
Australian Alex de Minaur has also been eliminated from contention after losing 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Elsewhere, world No. 1 Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, both of whom had already qualified for Turin, also suffered defeats.