Djokovic beats Hurkacz at ATP Finals, reaches semis with Sinner

Agency :
World number one Novak Djokovic beat ATP Finals alternate Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1 in their Green Group clash on Thursday and advanced to the semi-finals after Jannik Sinner edged Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the evening match.

Djokovic’s dropped set against Hurkacz, who replaced the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas in Turin, confirmed Jannik Sinner’s spot in the semi-finals – making him the first Italian in the tournament’s 54-year history to reach that stage.

Home favorite Sinner also clinched the top spot in the group with a 3-0 record after his big win over defending champion Djokovic 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) on Tuesday.

Playing with nothing to lose, Poland’s Hurkacz was a force to reckon with on serve-firing 24 aces in the match-but he ran out of steam in the final set as Djokovic converted break points for the first time in the contest.

Despite Djokovic notching his 15th victory over a top-10 player this year, equalling his best record since 2018, the Serbian was clearly frustrated after the win when asked why he looked upset when things went awry during the second set.

“Why was I upset? For what? I lost the set, so it’s normal … Good win, good win,” he said in an interview that lasted less than 20 seconds before he walked off the court.

Break points were in short supply in an absorbing first set as Hurkacz made things difficult for world number one Djokovic when he opted to serve first and began with a series of unreturned serves in the opening games.