PARIS – Russian-Armenian tennis player Karen Khachanov scored a major upset victory over Serbia’s Novak Djokovic to win the Paris Masters men’s tennis title, calling it the “biggest achievement” of his career.
The 22-year-old Khachanov defeated the 31-year-old Djokovic 7-5, 6-4, denying the Serbian superstar a chance to win his fourth tournament title in a row.
Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, will nevertheless return to the No. 1 ranking in men’s tennis when the list is announced on November 5. Khachanov will rise to No. 12 from his current 18th ranking.
“To finish the season like this is really a dream come true,” said Khachanov.
Going into the event, Khachanov had won just three of 19 encounters against players in the top 10 but claimed a fourth such scalp in a week after snapping Djokovic’s 22-match winning run.
He could yet take part at the ATP Tour Finals in London after earning a spot as the second alternate for the season-ending event.
“It’s one of my biggest titles so far, biggest achievement. And in general, it’s a breakthrough season,” said Khachanov, who won Moscow’s Kremlin Cup last month.
“Karen played really well and he deserved to win that match,” said Djokovic, who defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer in a grueling match the day before to reach the finals.
