Djokovic maintains 100 per cent record over Hurkacz, ATP Finals final four fate hangs in balance
Djokovic is not yet through to his 12th semi-final at the year-end finals – but he could be by the end of Thursday
Novak Djokovic (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)
Novak Djokovic edged his way towards the semi-finals of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals by beating alternate Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-1.
The last match in the Green Group is tonight, as Jannik Sinner – who is definitely already qualified – plays Holger Rune. If the Italian wins, then he also wins the group and Djokovic will go through in second place; if the Dane wins, then Djokovic is out.
Djokovic – always the favourite in tiebreaks – powered through the closing stages of the opening set, winning 10 consecutive points from 6-5 onwards.
Hurkacz, who replaced the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas, went into the match with a 0-7 record against Djokovic as well as an 0-3 record at the ATP Finals after his previous appearance in 2021.
Hurkacz can take a crumb of comfort from some of the statistics, serving 24 aces – the most against Djokovic in a three-set match since Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco in 2017. Indeed, he did not drop a point on his first serve in the second set.
He will be less pleased with his 41 unforced errors compared to his opponent’s 13; plus, over the course of the entire match, Djokovic won 73 per cent of his second-serve points to Hurkacz’s 32 per cent.
People in this post
More tennis news
Tien storms back for win over Michelsen to reach final at Next Gen Finals
Sinner wasn’t built in a day: “It all stems from work that was done much further back, from efforts I made much earlier”
“I wasn’t a King or Navratilova” – Evert claims her impact was “making it ok for young girls to be athletes”
From despair to acceptance; Rublev finds a way to maintain his place in world’s top 10
December 21, 1975: Bjorn Borg leads Sweden to first ever Davis Cup title
