Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (L) lost the final of the Rolex Masters in Paris to Karen Khachanov (R). In this picture, Khachanov (R) and second placed Serbia's Novak Djokovic pose with their trophies after their men's singles final tennis match on day seven of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 - Rolex Paris Masters - indoor tennis tournament at The AccorHotels Arena in Paris, Nov. 4, 2018. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic will begin the week as the top-ranked men’s singles player in the world, but it was not the perfect ending he anticipated after suffering a shock loss to Karen Khachanov in the final of the Roles Masters in Paris on Sunday.

The Serbian booked his place in the final after a mammoth battle with Roger Federer in the semifinals and was favorite to take his fifth title at Paris-Bercy owing to his recent form. Djokovic has won four titles since July with two being Grand Slams – the Wimbledon and the US Open - and other two Masters Series events in Cincinnati and Shanghai.

Djokovic had already confirmed his place as the world number one before the semifinals after Rafael Nadal – the previous incumbent of the top spot – pulled out with an injury before the tournament got underway. But he would have been keen to continue his winning run in the final regular-season event of the 2018 campaign before the ATP Finals in London.

However, it was not to be as Khachanov continued the form that saw him beat three top 10 players – John Isner, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem – on his way to the final. It was the 22-year-old’s first Masters Series title and the win will see him rise to number 11 in the rankings.

Khachanov was delighted after recording the biggest win of his career thus far especially since it came against the in-form Djokovic, who was unbeaten since the start of the Cincinnati Masters in August.

“It means the world to me. It is one of the biggest titles in my career so far,” Khachanov said, as quoted by the Express. “I couldn’t be happier to finish the season like this. To win the last tournament of the season - a Masters 1000.

“Against Novak Djokovic, the world No 1, that is the only explanation. I have the same goals as I have for this year, to finish as high as possible,” he added. “I need to keep working with my team on my game, to keep improving day by day. I need to keep competing with guys like Novak on the biggest stage more consistently.”

Djokovic, on the other hand, was a little disappointed and revealed after the match he was not feeling too good on the day after fighting the flu during the week. However, he was quick to praise Khachanov and made it clear tthe deserving player won the match.

The Serbian was also pleased he will be officially be crowned the world number one on Monday. It has been a long journey back the top after struggling with injury over the last 12 months and being ranked as low as 21 as recently as July.

“I want to talk about how well he played all week," Djokovic said, as per ATP’s official site. "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.”

"I'm satisfied of course and I'm going to be No. 1 tomorrow officially. What more can I ask for? I mean, I won 20-plus matches in a row and had a most amazing last five months of the year,” he added.

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