Is there someone who can stop Novak Djokovic in 2023? So far, the answer is no.
After winning in Adelaide and capturing his 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the 35-year-old signed up for the 2023 Dubai Championships, where he's the first-seeded player. In the first round, he had to fight his way past Tomas Machac, but already in the second round, he dominated against Tallon Griekspoor.
In the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event in United Arab Emirates, the experienced Serb met one of the seeded players, no. 5 Hubert Hurkacz, who he beat in all four of their previous meetings. This time, the Pole wanted to stop Djokovic's dominance.
But he didn't start well to produce a shocking loss. Djokovic broke already his second serve in the match and got off to a quick start, leading 4-1. The Serb then controlled the first set and didn't allow Hurkacz to cause any damage on his serve, winning the first set 6-3.
The second set was much closer, both players produced superb level on their serve in the first nine games, not losing more than 1 points. But then, Djokovic faced 0-30 deficit in the tenth game as Hurkacz was close to taking the match into a decider.
But the 5-time Dubai Championships winner didn't fold under pressure. Moreover, he increased the intensity on Hurkacz serve and in the longest game of the match, he got the crucial break after using his fifth break point of that game.
After an hour and 20 minutes, Djokovic won the match 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals, where he will meet either Daniil Medvedev or Borna Coric.
In the match, the Serb produced 19 winners and made only 7 unforced errors and while his opponent lost easily in two sets, Hurkacz's level was also quite solid, as he hit 21 winners and made 14 unforced errors.
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