Novak Djokovic's hopes of a record 19th ATP Finals appearance suffered a setback after a surprise defeat to Jan-Lennard Struff at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on October 30, 2026.
Playing in Basel for the first time since 2011, the 39-year-old Serb lost 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) to the world No. 27, marking Struff's first victory in nine meetings against Djokovic.
"I knew I needed to go for it. There was only one way to play it. So, I was very, very happy," Struff said after the match. "I knew I had to play my best tennis to have a chance. The last eight times he beat me very, very easily. So, I'm very, very happy and pleased with the performance."
The loss leaves Djokovic 11th in the ATP Finals race, 319 points behind Rafael Jodar, who holds the final qualifying spot in ninth place because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is injured and will not compete. The top eight qualify for the season-ending event in Turin from November 15-22.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and seven-time ATP Finals winner, admitted he expected to feel "a little rusty" after his previous win over Ugo Humbert. He now faces a battle to qualify at the Paris Masters in November. The last time he failed to qualify on merit was in 2017 due to injury.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ben Shelton have already secured their spots in Turin. Zverev also clinched the year-end world No. 1 ranking at the earliest opportunity. Shelton suffered a surprise loss in Basel to Swiss wildcard Jerome Kym, ranked 222nd, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-1).
