Novak Djokovic tried everything possible to catch one of Hubert Hurkacz's lucky shots in the fourth round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Fighting for the spot in the quarterfinals, the two protagonists of the last Sunday's match on the Centre Court showed their full repertoire of shots. While Hurkacz was firing aces left and right, accumulating 23 in two sets, Djokovic impressed, as always, with his solid baseline play.
After winning the opening set 8-6 in a tie-break, saving three break points along the way, Djokovic had it all in his hands in the second set. This time, the Serb wanted to end the set before it reached the tie-break, and he had multiple chances to do that.
Following one break point in the fourth game, the Serb had four more break points in the eighth game of the second set. But after saving the first three, sheer luck, but also incredible reflexes helped his opponent to save the fourth one.
After one of his powerful serves, Hurkacz quickly charged the net. But after Djokovic fired the ball at the Pole, he produced a not-ideal volley, which gave the Serb a chance to try a passing shot around his opponent.
The seven-time Wimbledon winner did exactly that, going to Hurkacz's backhand. The Polish player quickly extended his arm, only briefly touching the ball, which somehow got over the net after flying high into the air.
It seemed that it would be an easy putaway for Djokovic and the subsequent break of serve, but that didn't happen. The ball got an incredible spin and returned back to Hurkacz's side of the court.
The Serb tried to catch it by bending over the net, but he couldn't avoid crashing into it, meaning it was the Pole who won the point. The two then shared a nice opponent as they hugged each other, and the match could continue.
Eventually, it had to be stopped after two sets due to a curfew as Djokovic won two tie-breaks 8-6 to give himself a 2-0 lead in sets. The match will continue on Monday as the second match on the Centre Court.