Novak Djokovic had a nervous wait to find out if he would progress at the ATP Finals after defeating Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-1; Jannik Sinner's victory later on Thursday ensured the world No 1 reached the semi-finals
Friday 17 November 2023 09:09, UK
Novak Djokovic defeated Hubert Hurkacz in his final round-robin match at the ATP Finals but faced a nervous wait before his qualification for the semi-finals was confirmed.
The defending champion bounced back from Tuesday's loss to Jannik Sinner to see off Hurkacz, a replacement for the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6 (1) 4-6 6-1.
Djokovic then needed to hope Sinner beat Holger Rune so he could advance to the last-four of the season-ending tournament for the year's top eight players, with the Italian triumphing 6-2 5-7 6-4 to ensure he qualified from the Green Group.
"My kids are arriving tonight, so I don't think I'll watch," Djokovic said after his match. "I did my job and I'm going to spend tonight with the family. Then tomorrow I can worry about whether I qualified or not."
Djokovic appeared frustrated early on when he had no answer to Hurkacz's big serve, but then his Polish opponent made a few errors and Djokovic won 10 straight points to jump out to a big lead in the tiebreaker.
Djokovic double-faulted to hand Hurkacz a break and a 3-2 lead in the second. Then Hurkacz saved two break points with aces a couple of games later and continued to hold to close out the set.
Hurkacz served routinely at 140mph (225kph) and cranked out 24 aces to Djokovic's six. But Djokovic broke to take control midway through the third and improved to 7-0 in his career against Hurkacz.
"He's got one of the biggest serves in world," Djokovic said. "It's very, very tough to return, especially here at an altitude of nearly 300 meters (1,000 feet). I was waiting for chances when he missed his first serve - that was my only chance."
Sinner tops the Green Group with three wins from three, with Djokovic second on two. Rune ends with one win, and Hurkacz and Tsitsipas have none.
In the other group, Daniil Medvedev has already advanced to the semis with two wins. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have one win each and Andrey Rublev is winless.
When asked about Rafael Nadal's decision to play another season, Djokovic said: "I think it would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between [Rafael] Nadal and me.
"That's the biggest rivalry in terms of the amount of matches played that this sport ever had. So hopefully that can happen.
"He's a big warrior, he's somebody that really never gives up. With all the injuries that he had, keeps going. That's definitely something that you have to respect and admire about, about him and his spirit.
"So for the world of tennis, no doubt that it's amazing news that he will be back."
Nadal has been plagued by injuries in recent years and sat out almost all of the 2023 season, but says he's been training well and intends to make his return next year.
