Struff Stuns Djokovic in Basel Thriller to End Serb's Turin Dream

Jan-Lennard Struff ended Novak Djokovic's late-season chase for the ATP Finals on Thursday evening, beating the four-time Basel champion 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 in a gripping second-round match at the Swiss Indoors. For eight meetings Struff had found no way past Djokovic, but the ninth came at the worst possible moment for the Serb's hopes of reaching Turin. Djokovic took the first-set tiebreak 7-4, yet Struff broke serve for the only time in the match with the German leading 6-5 in the second set to force a decider, and then held his nerve to win the third-set tiebreak 7-5, closing out the contest with an ace. Djokovic had arrived in Basel as a wildcard knowing he would likely need to reach the final to stay in the race for the season-ending finals, and he leaves after the second round stuck on 2,890 points in the live race, outside the qualifying places. He will still return to the top ten on Monday thanks to his opening win over Ugo Humbert, but his Turin bid is effectively over. Struff, meanwhile, reaches his 42nd tour-level quarter-final and his second in Basel, where he will face Portugal's Nuno Borges for a place in the semi-finals.