Shanghai - 10/10

Good morning and welcome back to TIE-Breakfast: all the tennis you need with your breakfast.

Ace Cream's daily newsletter during Masters 1000 events and Grand Slams, every morning at 8:30, moved up to 6:00 every morning for this tournament.

Today is Saturday, October 10, and in Shanghai it is 12:00 and 26 degrees. Ok, here we go.

On the breakfast menu today

• 🇵🇱 Hurkacz beats Djokovic for the first time in his career
• 🇨🇳 Wild card Zhou knocks out Musetti on his return
• 🇮🇹 Cobolli and Berrettini out too
• 🎾 Zverev and Shelton through, Sakamoto eliminates Rublev
• 🇮🇹 Today: Arnaldi vs Fritz, Darderi vs Tsitsipas, and Alcaraz's opener

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY:

🇵🇱 Hurkacz Beats Djokovic For The First Time

Hubert Hurkacz beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in 87 minutes, the first win of his career over him. Three days earlier Djokovic had won his 102nd career title in Beijing. The Pole, world No. 34, finished with 13 aces and 28 winners.

Djokovic put the loss down to the fatigue built up over the Chinese swing:

"I wasn't close to what I was playing in Beijing, I'm a bit more tired, not fresh."

At 39, with two back-to-back tournaments and a fast court, the explanation holds up, although Hurkacz did plenty himself, serving for an hour and a half and conceding almost nothing. Djokovic said he may play only Paris between now and the end of the season. For Hurkacz, who already won Shanghai in 2023, the tournament now takes on a different shape.

🇨🇳 Wild Card Zhou Knocks Out Musetti On His Return

Zhou Yi, a Chinese player born in 2005, ranked No. 277 and in the draw on a wild card, beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(1) in two hours and 28 minutes. It is Zhou's first career win over a top-30 player. Musetti was returning to the court after a small fracture in the ring finger of his right hand that had forced him to skip Tokyo.

Zhou finished with 14 aces and the match was decided in the two tiebreaks: in the third set the Italian won just one point. Against an opponent serving like that, with the crowd fully behind him, the margin shrinks to a handful of points, and Musetti lost almost all of them when it mattered. More than the hand, the numbers suggest the missing match rhythm is what weighed on him.

🇮🇹 Cobolli And Berrettini Out Too

Flavio Cobolli, the No. 6 seed, lost his opener in three sets to Adrian Mannarino. Matteo Berrettini went out against Brandon Nakashima, 7-6, 7-5, never managing to break the American's serve.

Cobolli had break points in every return game of the first set, and in the third his forehand left him on his own: he finished the match with 21 forehand errors, according to Ubitennis. After the first-round exit in Beijing, it is his second opening loss in a row, right in the weeks when the race for the Turin Finals is decided. Berrettini had three break points at 0-40 in the fifth game of the first set, let them go, and at 5-5 in the second he dropped serve with a double fault.

🎾 Zverev And Shelton Through, Sakamoto Eliminates Rublev

Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 seed, beat Chinese wild card Wu Yibing 6-4, 7-6(4). Ben Shelton, the No. 3 seed, celebrated his 24th birthday by beating Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6). Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto, meanwhile, eliminated Andrey Rublev, the No. 23 seed, 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev and Shelton played two nearly identical matches, one comfortable set and a tiebreak in the second, and are moving through the early rounds without spending much. Sakamoto broke Rublev's serve twice in an hour and 22 minutes. Also out on the same day were Ugo Humbert, beaten by French player Arthur Gea, and Alexander Blockx, beaten by Quentin Halys, while Khachanov got past Arthur Fery after three tiebreaks.

WHAT'S ON TODAY:

• Jodar vs Tirante - On Court 3. Rafael Jodar, the No. 12 seed, opens against Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante.
• Bu vs Ruud - Second match on Stadium, after Auger-Aliassime vs Ugo Carabelli at 06:00 Italian time. Bu is back in front of the home crowd after beating Van Assche, this time against No. 20 seed Ruud.
• Arnaldi vs Fritz - Around 08:00 Italian time on Grandstand 2, after Medvedev-Struff. Arnaldi comes in having dropped four games to Tomic, while Fritz is the No. 11 seed. Against the American's serve, the Italian's return will be the first thing to watch.
• Darderi vs Tsitsipas - On Grandstand 2 after Fils-Kotov, around 12:00-12:30 Italian time. Darderi, the No. 18 seed, opens against the Greek, who needed a 7-5 second set to close out Coppejans in the first round.
• Alcaraz vs J.M. Cerundolo - In the night session on Stadium. The No. 2 seed opens against the Argentine, who beat Nicolas Mejia 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
• Vacherot vs Baez - Closing out the day on Stadium. Valentin Vacherot, the defending champion and No. 17 seed, begins his title defense against Sebastian Baez.

Further reading

• Everything Novak Djokovic said after early Shanghai Masters exit
• Novak Djokovic knocked out of Shanghai Masters in second round
• ATP Shanghai 2026, Italian disaster without Sinner: Musetti out too
• ATP Shanghai, another opening-match stumble for Cobolli: Mannarino wins in three sets
• ATP Shanghai 2026, Berrettini out in the second round: Nakashima wins in 2 sets
• ATP Shanghai, Day 4: Darderi-Tsitsipas, Arnaldi-Fritz and Alcaraz's opener

Enjoy your breakfast and have a great day.

See you tomorrow at 6:00 with TIE-Breakfast