ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic beats Hubert Hurkacz but is no longer master of his own destiny

ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic beats Hubert Hurkacz but no longer è master of his own destiny

From the very first points of the match, one can guess the’course of the match, moreover rather predictable even on paper. In these very fast conditions the serve of Hubert Hurkacz è a devastating weapon and the Pole confirms it right away, with three aces in his first serve. Djokovic serves second and è thus always forced to chase, although he has no particular trouble repeatedly hooking his opponent. Throughout the course of the first set there’è;s not a single break ball and only twice out of twelve it comes to advantages. Logical conclusion of the partial è the tie-break, played very badly by the Pole and gifted to the No. 1, who takes it by 7 points to one.

È forò the second set to mark a very important turning point for the green group. Unexpectedly, in fact, Djokovic plays the worst game of his match, offering three consecutive break points in the fifth game and suffering an unexpected break. Hurkacz opened a partial run of 13 consecutive points, going up 4-2 and then 5-3 by canceling two consecutive break points in the eighth game, relying on his deadly serve. The 6-4 accrued in forty minutes sends Sinner to the semifinals, rendering the outcome of the third set useless. For the record, the Serb wins it 6-1, aided by the decline of the Pole, who wins only one point out of twelve with the second (while registering 7 aces and 90% of points with the first). Now Djokovic must cheer for Sinner: a’s eventual defeat of Jannik would eliminate him from the ATP Finals for good.

John Pelazzo