Novak Djokovic saves THREE set points on his way to winning two tie-breaks against big-serving Hubert Hurkacz before play is suspended… with defending champion on the brink of Wimbledon quarter-finals
As Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew neared and the 15,000 spectators wondered how long they should stay on a school night, Novak Djokovic was swinging away, yet again lumped with the late shift.
You know your scheduling is flawed when you struggle to complete three matches in a day in your main stadium, and that is without any rain or protests to cause temporary delays on Centre Court.
The All England Club’s 1.30pm start time — and their insistence in persisting with it — is looking increasingly ludicrous. Tradition is nice, but there must come a time when Wimbledon recognises the need to rethink their rigid stance. Certainly these backlogs should encourage change, especially as the criticism of this silly schedule continues to pour in.
Organisers like that their afternoon-to-evening showings attract a significant audience on the BBC, who hold the exclusive rights to Wimbledon. The dramatic Centre Court clash between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas drew in a peak audience of five million before it was cut off by the curfew on Thursday night.
Yet in his 100th Wimbledon match — a magnificent number only beaten by Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors — Djokovic was left fighting against the clock as well as Hubert Hurkacz, the big-serving 17th seed from Poland.
Novak Djokovic leads two sets to love in an incredible round of 16 clash against Hubert Huracz
Huracz forced Djokovic into two tiebreakers but narrowly lost out in both before the curfew
It was reminiscent of Djokovic’s last outing only two nights ago. That straight-sets win over Stan Wawrinka started at 8.39pm and finished at 10.46pm, 14 minutes before the curfew. Djokovic played as if in a hurry to finish, saying afterwards: ‘I could feel the time ticking.’
Centre Court started yesterday with a five-setter between Alexander Bublik and Andrey Rublev, followed by a three-setter won by Iga Swiatek against Belinda Bencic.
There were 24 minutes between Swiatek confirming victory and the first shot being struck in Djokovic versus Hurkacz. It was not until 8.49pm that this headline clash finally got going.
The Centre Court crowd love an underdog and anyone who stares down Djokovic over a net is automatically second-favourite. Wimbledon’s official ‘likelihood to win’ predictor gave Hurkacz a 41 per cent chance of victory but many felt that was kind.
It had been a decade since Djokovic last suffered a loss on Centre Court and his three wins of the last week suggested the GOAT of men’s tennis would be nibbling its grass soon enough, as is tradition after every title he takes here.
Sympathetic support awaited Hurkacz from the 15,000 spectators on Centre Court, though Djokovic insisted this week it does not bother him, telling Serbian reporters: ‘They wake up to something they might not want to see — a winner.’
Unlike Federer or Rafa Nadal, Djokovic has long struggled to win the hearts of the fans. Yet sport is not a popularity contest. It is about picking up titles, and Djokovic can say he does that better than anyone with the 23 Grand Slams to prove it.
Hurkacz knows that all too well, having lost all five of their previous meetings, including in Wimbledon’s third round in 2019. Like Djokovic, he had not dropped a set at these Championships en route to this fourth-round meeting. His serve is lethal. He hit 141mph last night — the fastest seen at Wimbledon thus far — and it meant rallies were at a premium. With neither man willing to budge, the opening set went to a tiebreak.
This is where Djokovic usually excels — he had won 18 of his 22 in 2023 — but it was Hurkacz who secured three set points.
He took none of them and paid the price, with Djokovic claiming the first set under the roof of Centre Court by the narrowest of margins. It was one set down, two to go, as the clock ticked towards 11pm.
