Novak Djokovic admitted it was a tough match for him after he defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round of the ongoing Wimbledon by 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 at Centre Court on Monday. The Serbian took a 2-0 lead on Sunday before the match was suspended due to curfew.
The Pole made a fine start on Monday by winning the third set but Djokovic was quick to bounce back to wrap the match in the fourth set.
“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.”
The World No.2 improved his ATP Head2Head record to 6-0 against Hubert Hurkacz. Djokovic hailed his opponent for an impressive performance and showered praise on his serve. Hurkacz smashed 33 aces as compared to Djokovic’s 18.
“He’s got one of the best serves in the world and it’s so difficult to read it. Playing obviously on the quickest surface in [the] sport, grass court, it really favors big servers. So it was not really [an] enjoyable match for me, I must say,” Djokovic said.
In fact, the Serb admitted the match could have gone either way as he was down 3-6 in the first set tiebreaker but held his nerves to win the crucial points.
“But I guess in the important moments, yesterday last night, I was fortunate really, to win that first set. I was 3/6 down in the tie-break. This match definitely could have gone a different way. But I guess I held my nerves when it mattered and I’m happy to win.”
Djokovic was once again able to handle the pressure with aplomb and delivered to advance in the tournament. The Serbian is now three wins away from his 24th Grand Slam and eighth Wimbledon title.
The 36-year-old from Belgrade will now take on Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the quarters on Tuesday.
