Image: APA/AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS
LONDON. The road to the 24th tennis Grand Slam title will not be a walk in the park for Novak Djokovic, who has already won the Australian Open and the French Open this calendar year. The Serbian world number two needed luck and skill to fight against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon grass classic.
It was an even duel in which the Polish underdog served no fewer than 33 aces and batted 64 winners. Nevertheless, Djokovic prevailed after 3:10 hours (spread over two days) 7: 6 (6), 7: 6 (6), 5: 7, 6: 4. In the tie-break of the first round, Hurkacz missed three set balls en suite.
His impregnable fortress
“Great respect for Hubert’s performance, he delivered an impressive match”Djokovic applauded his defeated opponent: “His serve is one of the best in the world, it’s incredibly difficult to read. I can’t remember the last time I felt so bad on the return. It definitely wasn’t fun.”
Nevertheless, the London trip is being extended. Today (2nd match after 2.30 p.m., Sky) the duel with the Russian Andrej Rublew increases – as expected on Center Court, which from Djokovic’s point of view is something like an impregnable fortress.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion has not lost a match in the 15,000-seat stadium since 2013. “I feel a great connection to this court. Every time I step onto it, it gives me even more confidence in my game. I hope this love affair lasts for a long time”said the man from Belgrade.
100th individual match, 90th win
Djokovic played his 100th singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club against Hurkacz. Only Jimmy Connors (102) and eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer (120) completed more. The “djoker” has won 90 of those 100 games, reached his 14th quarterfinal in London and his 56th overall at major level. In this respect too, Federer is still ahead at 58. The emphasis is still on, because despite his advanced age, Djokovic does not even dream of ending his career.
It is 3-1 against Rublev in direct duels, on grass it will be the first showdown. “Andrej is definitely a different athlete than Hurkacz – he plays powerfully and quickly from the baseline and loves to dictate”says Djokovic, to immediately muzzle himself: “I won’t talk too much about tactics, I’ll keep that to myself.”
For Dominic Thiem conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) after a five-set defeat against Christopher Eubanks (USA) it was the end of the line as well as for the highly talented Maria Andrejewa. The 16-year-old Russian lost to the American Madison Keys after leading 6:3 and 4:1.
Source: Nachrichten
