Frustrated Novak Djokovic speaks after shock defeat in Paris, ‘I should’ve won this match’

Novak Djokovic has officially seen his 2026 season come to an end after losing in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Djokovic was beaten by Rinky Hijikata 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, despite having never lost a set to the Australian in their two previous meetings.

This marked Djokovic’s earliest exit at the Paris Masters since 2012, and officially brought an end to his season after it confirmed that he would be unable to qualify for the ATP Finals this year.

When reflecting on his defeat to Hijikata, Djokovic was clearly unhappy with his performance, despite being full of praise for his opponent.

Novak Djokovic admits he ‘completely lost control of the match’ vs Rinky Hijikata

“I mean disappointment obviously, losing a match that I felt like I was dominating the first set, set and a few games, but then he was switched on, I wasn’t serving as well and then he was playing out of his mind honestly, was not missing, keeping the ball low and just terrific performance,” Djokovic told press after the match. “Unfortunate not to use the opportunities in the third, but I think he is a deserved winner.”

While Djokovic claimed that Hijikata was the deserved winner of the match, he did also go on to claim that he should have beaten the world number 83.

“Nobody loves losing, but it’s just another match,” said Djokovic. “I should have won this match, I played well the first set and then completely lost control of the match.”

Djokovic added, “I just felt like he was really effective from every corner. It’s the quickest surface we have here on the tour, and for players like him who play really flat and close to the line it suits him really well. Congrats to him, I mean he played really great tennis and it was my fault to let the control of the match go.”

Physical issues have been a continuing theme for Djokovic this year, and it was the same for the 39-year-old at the Paris Masters as well, with a shoulder issue seemingly troubling him.

Djokovic was also asked about his injury situation after the match, and while he admitted he was not feeling the best, he did not want it to take away from Hijikata’s win, “Not the freshest, but it was not an excuse for the loss today.”

Novak Djokovic has failed to qualify for the ATP Finals for just the second time in 20 years

As previously mentioned, Djokovic’s second round loss to Hijikata means that his hopes of qualifying for this year’s ATP Finals have officially ended.

This marks just the second time that Djokovic has been unable to qualify for the year-end tournament, that he has won a record seven times, since 2007.

The only other time Djokovic did not qualify for the ATP Finals in this period was in 2017, after ending his season early due to an elbow injury which he later underwent surgery on. Djokovic also did not compete at the ATP Finals in 2024 and 2025, but that was through his own choice as he still qualified for the tournament.

Djokovic’s 2026 season is now over, as he ends the year with his lowest win percentage since 2005 (68.8%) after failing to reach the quarter-finals of any Masters 1000 tournament.

There have still been some highlights this year for Djokovic, who won the China Open last month, and also reached the final of the Australian Open, as well as the semi-finals of Wimbledon.