Jan-Lennard Struff defeats Novak Djokovic in Basel, halting bid to close on Federer

Novak Djokovic was beaten 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5) by Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Thursday, ending his return to the tournament in a match that lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion arrived in Basel seeking another tour-level title but missed a chance to narrow the gap on Roger Federer’s career total; Djokovic won his 102nd tour-level trophy at the China Open in Beijing earlier this month while Federer sits on 103 and Jimmy Connors holds the all-time record with 109. Djokovic had not played in Basel since 2011; he won the event in 2009 by beating Federer in the final, lost to Federer in the 2010 final, and reached the semi-finals in 2011.

Struff, ranked 47th, produced the upset against the tournament’s fourth seed after Djokovic claimed the opening set in a tie-break. The German converted his first break-point opportunity to take the second set 7-5, and the deciding set went to a tie-break in which Struff sealed victory with his 27th ace.

The loss is described in the report as a significant setback to Djokovic’s bid to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin; Rafael Jodar’s earlier defeat in Basel had opened a route into the qualification positions. Following the defeat, Djokovic trails Jodar by 319 points with the Paris Masters the final tournament before the ATP Finals.

The Rolex Paris Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, is scheduled to take place from November 2 to 8, and Djokovic is set to return to that tournament after a three-year absence, having won the title a record six times. The report notes that a strong run in Paris could prove crucial to his hopes of securing a place in Turin.

Top seed Ben Shelton also exited Basel, falling to Swiss wildcard Jerome Kym 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1); Kym, ranked 222nd in the world and aged 23, prevailed and handed Shelton another defeat against a player ranked outside the top 100 this season. Kym will next face eighth seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic now heads to the Rolex Paris Masters from November 2 to 8, where, according to the report, a deep run would be important to his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin given the current 319-point deficit to Rafael Jodar.