Novak Djokovic leaves behind Roger Federer’s majestic Wimbledon feat after surviving Hurkacz test to reach quarters
No player has dished out more than 30 aces in a match against Novak Djokovic in a Wimbledon clash since Sam Querry’s effort in 2016.
Hubert Hurkacz fired 32 of them as his service remained unbroken in the 2023 edition of the tournament. But all until the fourth set on Monday evening on Centre Court. Djokovic broke early and then maintained the pressure before sealing a 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 against the 17th seed to reach the quarterfinal at the Wimbledon again.
Djokovic had taken a two set lead late on Sunday night before the play was suspended due to curfew rules. While it was expected of the Serb to wrap up the match within the first set on Monday evening, Hurkacz broke late in the third set to stretch the match. But while the plan would have been to take it to the decider, Djokovic wrapped it up in style to make the quarters.
“Big credit to Hubert for playing an amazing match, tough luck for him today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “But he put up a great performance. Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable in returning games, to be honest, due to his incredibly accurate and powerful serve.”
With the win, Djokovic reached his 55th Grand Slam quarterfinal, only behind Roger Federer’s all-time tally of 58. 14 of them have come at Wimbledon, with his tally being the second best in Open Era, alongside the legendary Jimmy Connors and only behind the Swiss, who managed 18 of those during his illustrious career.
The victory also took Djokovic’s winning percentage in men’s singles at Wimbledon to 90, levelling with the great Pete Sampras and standing only behind Bjorn Borg (92.7%). He however surpassed Federer, who has a win rate of 88.2 per cent.
Djokovic vs Rublev next
Djokovic will next face seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who avenged his Halle Open final loss against Alexander Bublik in five sets on Sunday. The 23-time Grand Slam winner leads the head-to-head tie 3-1 against the Russian, whose only win came last year, on clay, in Belgrade’s final.