On Thursday afternoon, Poland’s best tennis player Hubert Hurkacz was taking on the living legend Novak Djokovic for the final match of the group phase at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The beginning of the match opposing was tight, with both players keeping their serve until 6-6. The set was to be decided in the tie-break. Without any surprise, that is when the Serbian took control. This decision turned out to be a formality. “Nole” outplayed his opponent 7-1.
The second set looked relatively similar. Both players served well and neutralised each other until 2-2, Hubi unexpectedly turned the tide and broke the “Djoker” to love. Boosted with confidence, the Silesian won his service game (again) without dropping a single point (4-2).
Back at 4-3, Nole started to put some serious pressure on the Pole and quickly obtained two break points. That is when Hubi dropped not one, not two, but three aces in a row before sealing his service game with a smash (5-3). Impressive! Djokovic stayed in the set (5-4) but Hurkacz’s heavy serves allowed him to take the second set (6-4).
From that moment on, the Serbian did not have his fate in his hands any longer when it comes to the ATP Finals. To put it simply, the other match of the day, opposing Janick Sinner to Holger Rune was to decide if Djokovic would qualify for the semi-finals or not. A Sinner win would mean that Djokovic qualifies, while a Rune win would eliminate Djokovic in the group phase. Eventually, Sinner won in three sets, allowing “Djoko” to qualify for the final four yet again.
The third set started poorly for Hurkacz who was quickly broken (3-1). Nole then took his serve (4-1) and the point of no return was reached. As expected, the world number 1 sealed the third set (6-1), without leaving Hurkacz any chance.
The ATP Finals is the last big tournament of every season, gathering the 8 best-ranked players in the world. The only time Hurkacz participated in it was back in 2021 when he was eliminated in the group stage.
The Pole arrived in Italy with the status of alternate. His confrontation with the world number 1 was his first and last in the ultimate tournament of the year – no matter the outcome – which allowed him to play without any pressure.
Hubi did all he could in the last weeks to qualify for the ATP Finals, winning the Masters 1000 of Shanghai and adding additional tournaments to his already busy schedule. Eventually, he received the opportunity to compete following the withdrawal of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired after only three games on Tuesday against Denmark’s Holger Rune.
Image: X (@HubertHurkacz)
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
