Wimbledon: Djokovic Defeats Hurkacz, Reaches Quarter-Finals
Defending champion Novak Djokovic on Monday reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals after a hard-fought 7-6(6) 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4 victory against big-serving Pole Hubert Hurkacz on Centre Court.
Having edged two tight tiebreaks late on Sunday before the game was stopped by the tournament’s strict 11pm curfew, Djokovic returned hoping for a quick completion of the match. Instead, he dropped his first set of the tournament before recalibrating and sealing the victory.
Djokovic had saved three set points in the opening set tiebreak on Sunday and then snuck through the second set breaker to put himself well ahead.
But with Hurkacz showing no intention of slowing down, Djokovic struggled when he dropped serve for the first time since the first round. He netted a forehand when serving at 5-6 down in the third.
With his timing off and the first signs of agitation bubbling to the surface, Djokovic was knocked literally off balance at the start of the fourth set as he lunged for a return and ended up in a heap on the ground.
Hurkacz’s confidence was soaring and he managed to send the Serbian tumbling to the grass in a heap with another first serve piledriver. However, Djokovic picked himself up and waited for his moment and it came at 3-3.
Another two break points came and went to take his conversion rate to 0-7, but Djokovic’s patience eventually paid off and he engineered another chance.
This time he got the long baseline exchange he desired and forced the error. The rest was straightforward as Djokovic marched on towards a record-extending men’s 24th Grand Slam title.
“I managed to hold my nerve when it mattered. He (Hurkacz) put up a great performance,” a relieved Djokovic said on court after keeping his bid for a fifth successive Wimbledon title and eighth in all.
“Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games to be honest, because of his incredibly accurate and powerful serve. I mean he’s got one of the best serves in the world and it’s so difficult to read it.”
“It was not really an enjoyable match for me but I guess in the important moments, like the three set points last night when I was fortunate to win the first set,” Djokovic added.
32 consecutive #Wimbledon wins for @DjokerNole 👏
Quarter-final place secured ✅ pic.twitter.com/qzoAq3x76J
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2023
His 100th match at Wimbledon was not vintage Djokovic, but as he almost always does the second seed found a way through the storm to preserve his 10-year unbeaten record on Centre Court.
He has now moved equal in second place with Jimmy Connors for Wimbledon quarter-finals reached and will face Russia’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev in his 14th on Tuesday.
100 #Wimbledon singles matches, so many impressive numbers.@DjokerNole | @IBM pic.twitter.com/wksxpF50Pq
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2023
