Karen Khachanov sprung one of the biggest upsets of the year by stunning four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters.
The 22-year-old Russian claimed his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in dramatic fashion by defeating the world number two 7-5 6-4.
Khachanov produced a powerful performance on the indoor hard courts of Paris-Bercy on Sunday, preventing Djokovic from finding his rhythm.
“It means the world to me,” Khachanov told atpworldtour.com.
“I couldn’t be happier to finish the season like this.”
Djokovic, who defeated long-time rival Roger Federer in Saturday’s semi-finals, came into the match searching for a 23rd successive win.
The Serbian started strongly and secured a quick break of serve to go 3-1 up before the momentum shifted.
Khachanov soon snatched the break back and, after edging ahead at 6-5 with another break, sealed the set in 58 minutes with his third ace.
He then made the most of a third break point in the third game of the second set with a running forehand winner, before holding his nerve to serve out the match.
Djokovic, who won the tournament in 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and will become world number one on Monday, said: “He absolutely deserved to win the match today. So all the credit to him. He deserves it. He’s a young player… up-and-coming.
“But already an established player, a top player. And he showed great quality today and he showed why we’re going to see a lot of him in the future.”
