Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, faced a momentary setback against the powerful serves of Polish player Hubert Hurkacz but swiftly regained his momentum on Monday to secure a place in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
After narrowly winning two tiebreaks late on Sunday and being constrained by the tournament’s strict 11pm curfew, the 36-year-old athlete encountered his first set loss of the competition but ultimately emerged triumphant with a 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 victory.
Djokovic wasn’t in top form as Hurkacz momentarily threatened a comeback. Nonetheless, as he has consistently showcased, the illustrious men’s champion with record-breaking 23 Grand Slam titles ingeniously surmounted the formidable obstacle.
With this win, Djokovic has now equaled Jimmy Connors in second place for the most quarter-finals reached at Wimbledon. He is set to face Andrey Rublev of Russia, the tournament’s seventh seed, on Wednesday.
Notably, the Serbian athlete has now reached an impressive total of 56 Grand Slam quarter-finals, second only to Roger Federer.
Amidst the swirling wind on Centre Court, Djokovic faced difficulties finding his usual rhythm and conceded a break of serve for the first time in the match, leading to the loss of the third set.
During a brief period of their match, the second-seeded player seemed uneasy or unsettled when facing off against the 17th-seeded opponent. It is worth noting that this same 17th seed had previously eliminated Roger Federer from Wimbledon two years ago
However, Djokovic capitalized on an opportunity to break Hurkacz’s serve for the first time at 3-3 in the fourth set, after seven previous breakpoints had slipped away.
From that point onwards, Djokovic cruised through the remaining games with efficiency and precision, swiftly wrapping up the match.