Struff Beats Djokovic in Basel for First Win in Nine Meetings

Jan-Lennard Struff beat Novak Djokovic in three sets at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Thursday, October 29, winning 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(5) in the second round. It was Struff's first win over Djokovic in nine meetings. He had lost all eight of their previous matches.

Struff, ranked 47th in the world and 36 years old, closed the match with his 27th ace. The Associated Press reported that he clinched the win on his third match point, with an ace down the middle, after Djokovic saved the second match point with an ace of his own. The match lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

One break decided the second set

The only break of serve in the match came late in the second set, when Djokovic was broken while trailing 6-5. That break levelled the match at one set each and sent the contest into a deciding set, which Struff took in a tiebreak. Djokovic had opened his Basel campaign on Wednesday, October 28, with a three set win over Ugo Humbert.

"The last eight times, he beat me very easily," Struff said, according to Reuters. He said he knew he had to attack to have any chance in the ninth meeting.

Djokovic, 39, was playing in Basel for the first time in 15 years. He won one of his titles in the city in the 2009 final against Roger Federer. He was generous about the defeat. "It hurts that I lost, you know, he just played amazing tennis," Djokovic said, in comments reported by Tennis365. "I don't remember playing against someone who was this aggressive and this precise."

The race to Turin tightens

The defeat leaves Djokovic 11th in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, 319 points behind ninth placed Rafael Jodar. Jodar holds the final qualifying place because the injured Jannik Sinner is not playing in Turin. Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have already secured their places at the finals, which start on November 15.

Djokovic now heads to the Paris Masters, which runs from November 2 to 8. He has won that tournament a record seven times. He has not said whether he would also enter the ATP 250 event in Stockholm afterwards if he still needs points to reach Turin.

The Basel loss also holds up a separate chase. Djokovic won his 102nd tour event this month in Beijing. Only Jimmy Connors, with 109 titles, and Roger Federer, with 103, have won more. A title in Basel, in Federer's home city, would have drawn Djokovic level with Federer on 103. Instead he stays one behind, and the record chase moves on to Paris.