Novak Djokovic Falls to Jan-Lennard Struff in Three-Set Swiss Indoors Match

Novak Djokovic lost 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5) to 47th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday in Basel.

Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Novak Djokovic 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Thursday at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. The 36-year-old German secured the victory on his third match point with an ace down the middle. Djokovic, aged 39, had previously saved the second match point with an ace of his own during the third-set tiebreak.

This defeat leaves Djokovic with 102 career titles, one behind Roger Federer’s total of 103 and seven behind Jimmy Connors' record of 109. The 24-time Grand Slam champion last won a tour event earlier this month in Beijing. His appearance in Basel marked his first time competing at the tournament in 15 years, a venue where he previously defeated Federer in the 2009 final.

In other tournament action, second-seeded Arthur Fils advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Alex Michelsen. Fils will next face sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz, who beat Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-3. Eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka also progressed by defeating Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-4, setting up a Friday match against either top-seeded Ben Shelton or Swiss wild card Jerome Kym.