Wimbledon: Djokovic beats brave Hurkacz
In the third round of Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic won the duel against the strong-playing Poland Hubert Hurkacz in four sets with 7: 5, 6: 7 (5), 6: 1, 6: 4.
by Robert M. Frank
last edit: Jul 05, 2019, 07:49 pm
In the second duel against Poland, Novak Djokovic (ATP 1) against Hubert Hurkacz (AZTP 48) did not go as smoothly as the Serb's three-set victory a few weeks ago in Roland Garros. The Pole demanded a lot from the world number one in the first two sentences.
In set one, Hurkacz kept up brilliantly in his seventh ATP main round match on grass. The 22-year-old not only played his service games against return specialist Djokovic, but the tall right-hander from Wroclaw occasionally broke the world's number one when it came to servicing. However, the strong performance of the Poland did not help to make it a success in the first round, Djokovic took the service game from Hurkacz to 6: 5 and then made the set with 7: 5.
In set two it became spectacular on Court Number 1. Hurkacz continued to show spectacular hits such as flight inserts and strong point wins after Volleys, but also made it into the tie-break. There, the three-time ATP Challenger champion was ahead of the big favorites.
From set three, the outsider could not maintain the level. While the Pole made too many careless mistakes, Djokovic struck ice cold on the other side and after three breaks decided the set with 6: 1.
And even in the fourth sentence, the Serb didn't let anything burn. Hurkacz did not give up, but had to let the defending champions defeat until 6: 4. "I congratulate Hubert. He showed really good shots and it was a tough first set for me in particular," Djokovic subsequently praised the Poles in an interview on Sky.
In the round of 16, the Canadian whiz kid Félix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 21) or the French Ugo Humbert (ATP 66) are waiting for the world number one. The game takes place tonight.