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Rinky Hijikata showed his class after stunning Novak Djokovic in a big upset at the Paris Masters. The Australian, ranked 83rd in the world, became the lowest-ranked player to beat 10th seed Djokovic this year. He won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round in the French capital. Djokovic is a seven-time champion in Paris and had been looking to reach at least the semi-finals to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin later this month.
But despite going a set up, Djokovic fell to a defeat which means he has failed to qualify for ATP Finals for only the second time in the last 20 seasons when fit.
The Serbian veteran noticeably struggled physically against Hijikata as he season came to a sad end. But his delighted opponent made it clear exactly how highly he holds the 24-time Grand Slam champion, insisting it was a pleasure simply to share the court with him.
The 25-year-old said to BB Tennis: "It's definitely the biggest win of my career so far. Just to be on the court with him is an absolute honour.
"Like many of the guys, I've grown up watching him play, and seeing what he's done for this sport is incredible. Just to be out there was great. To get the win is unimaginable."
Hijikata also admitted he almost didn't play due to physical problems of his own. He added: "I just cooked my neck a bit yesterday and, to be honest, it wasn't feeling great last night or this morning.
"But I guess a bit of adrenaline kicked in and I was going to do whatever I could, so I'm glad about my performance."
Despite losing, Djokovic also showed class, saluting the performance of Hijikata who he says was playing 'out of his mind'.
The 39-year-old icon said: "Disappointment, obviously, losing a match that I felt like I was dominating for a set and a few games.
"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.
"He played really amazing tennis and it was my fault to let the control of the match go. 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. I'm looking forward to it [a break from tennis]."
His worst defeat of the season by ranking means Djokovic failed to reach the quarter-finals in any of this year's nine Masters 1000 tournaments.
The Serb has not won a Grand Slam since 2023 and due to his health problems, it has been suggested 2027 could be his final year on the ATP Tour before he retires.
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