Shanghai, Oct 9 (IANS) Hubert Hurkacz produced a stellar win over former World No.1 Novak Djokovic on his return to the Shanghai Masters on Friday night in Shanghai, China.
Hurkacz evoked memories of his best in Shanghai as he defeated Djokovic for the first time in his career in the ninth attempt in a 6-4, 6-4 win. The Pole had won the tournament when he played the last time in 2023 and is now on an eight-game winning streak in Shanghai.
He dominated the Serb with his big serve and also used the baseline well, while Djokovic appeared to struggle physically as this was his sixth match in 10 days, having won the China Open a few days ago.
“It’s a special night. I’ve been playing Novak for like seven years, so it’s been unsuccessful, but (he has been) such a great champion for so many years,” Hurkacz said.
“Being on Tour, at the top, and he just won Beijing, so it’s a very difficult ask to play against him, but also it is a pleasure for me to share a court with him, to play such a legend of the sport. It’s a lot of fun, and then you also challenge yourself to see where your level is,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hurkacz has now become just the fourth man to register at least one win against all of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic on hard courts. Before him, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev had achieved the milestone.
Both Hurkacz and Djokovic came into this blockbuster second-round clash on the back of reaching tour-level finals in China this year. Djokovic won the China Open in Beijing for his 102nd tour-level title, while Hurkacz lost the Chengdu Open title match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earlier.
However, he seemed fresher of the two in the second round and saved two break points in the match, while he broke the Serb twice.
“Definitely it was very important at the start to stay there with Novak, because if he gets ahead, he presents such a great level and it’s not easy to come back,” Hurkacz reflected.
“Then towards the end, of course I was feeling some nerves. It’s not my first time leading my break in a set against Novak, so I was trying to stay focused on my things, what I needed to do. I was pleased with the performance at the end,” he added.
–IANS
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