JAN-LENNARD STRUFF BEATS NOVAK DJOKOVIC AT SWISS INDOORS

Jan-Lennard Struff beat Novak Djokovic 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Thursday. Struff had lost all eight of their previous meetings. The defeat left Djokovic 11th in the ATP Race standings, according to the published figures, as he seeks a place at November’s ATP Finals in Turin. Djokovic was playing in Basel for the first time in 15 years. Struff said: “I knew I had to play my best tennis to have a chance.”

Djokovic failed to break Struff’s serve in 18 return games, with Struff saving all six break points he faced. Struff broke Djokovic’s serve on set point in the second set to level the match. Djokovic had beaten Ugo Humbert on Wednesday and said afterwards that he expected to feel “a little rusty”. The ATP Race standings put Djokovic on 2,890 points, 319 behind Rafael Jodar in ninth place. Jodar currently holds the final qualifying spot because Jannik Sinner will miss the event through injury.

Djokovic can gain more points at the Paris Masters in November, where the entry list places him as the tenth seed. The tournament will take place in Nanterre, having previously been held at Bercy. Djokovic has won the Paris title seven times, according to the tournament record cited in the account of his Basel defeat. He is seeking a 19th appearance at the ATP Finals, which run from 15 to 22 November. Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton have already qualified; Shelton also lost in Basel, falling to Swiss wildcard Jerome Kym.