The Wimbledon crowd enjoyed another riveting clash on Centre Court late on Sunday night when defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic took on Hubert Hurkacz. It was an intense men’s singles round of 16 match with both Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz unable to break each other’s serve, leading to both sets being decided by a tie-breaker. Then came one moment which left the audience in splits and the players also smiled and hugged each other.
During the second set, Novak Djokovic hit a powerful shot, but Hurkacz managed to return it over the net. However, due to the spin of the ball, it bounced back towards Djokovic’s side. Djokovic quickly ran towards the net to touch the ball, but he couldn’t control his movement and strangely fell over the net.
Novak Djokovic stood up and felt a bit embarrassed while Hurkacz couldn’t stop laughing. Then, Hurkacz said sorry to Djokovic, and they both smiled at each other. The duo even displayed a show of sportsmanship with a warm hug.
Novak Djokovic needs one more set to reach quarterfinals
Even though Djokovic is currently ahead and only needs to win one more set to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, he still faces a challenge because he has not been able to break Hurkacz’s serve. It’s worth noting that Hurkacz, the 17th seed, has not lost a single game on his serve throughout the tournament this year, an impressive streak of 58 consecutive games.
If Djokovic successfully secures his place in the quarterfinals, it will be the eighth time he has reached that stage at Wimbledon. This achievement would tie him with Jimmy Connors for the second-most men’s singles quarterfinal appearances in the history of the tournament, with Roger Federer holding the record at 18.
The winner of this round of 16 match will then face Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed, in the next round. Rublev had an exciting five-set victory against Alexander Bublik earlier on Sunday.
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Updated: 10 Jul 2023, 07:13 PM IST
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