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Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff came back from a set down to beat 39-year-old Novak Djokovic 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament, a mid-level event on the men’s ATP Tour, in Basel, Switzerland, on Thursday, in a tense contest lasting more than 2.5 hours.
Struff peppered Djokovic with aggressive serving throughout the match. The opening set went to a tie-break (a deciding game played when a set reaches 6-6) without either player dropping serve, and Djokovic claimed it 7-4 to take the early advantage.
Serving at 6-5 in the second set, Djokovic faltered and allowed Struff to break and level the match at one set apiece.
The decider also went to a tie-break, and this time Struff prevailed, landing the first career victory over the 24-time Grand Slam winner after eight previous defeats.
The loss costs Djokovic valuable points in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals, the season-ending tournament, in Turin in November.
The tournament is reserved for the top eight players in the race rankings, which are based solely on results achieved during the current season. Jannik Sinner, who has withdrawn with a knee injury, is excluded from the field.
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Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the event, currently sits 11th in the race. He can take some consolation from the fact that ninth-ranked Spaniard Rafael Jodar also went out in the second round in Basel, beaten by Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot.
Elsewhere, France’s Arthur Fils, who holds seventh place in the race, advanced by defeating American Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
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