May 06, (THEWILL) – Novak Djokovic sped through Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets to reach the Madrid Masters’ final four, keeping him in good shape for the defense of his French Open title.
The world number one looked quick and in-tune as he stormed to a 6-3 6-4 victory to advance to his 72nd Masters 1000 semi-final. He also extended his head-to-head record against Hurkacz to 4-0.
As THEWILL reported, Djokovic was given a walkover in the previous round due to Andy Murray’s illness and he looked unfazed during an unimpressive and one-sided first set.
Hurkacz, on the other hand, was jittery and added to a sloppy start with a double fault and a wayward backhand, allowing the 20-time Grand Slam champion to break and take a 3-0 lead.
Although the 12th-seed from Poland finally found his serving rhythm, he paid the price for giving the Serbian top seed an early lead, as Djokovic cruised to the first set in just 33 minutes.
Hurkacz, who was playing in his third consecutive Masters 1000 quarterfinal, saved a break point in the first game of Set 2, but his proclivity for leaking unforced errors reappeared shortly after, handing Djokovic the lead. The Serb did not have to do much to take a 3-2 lead, and he continued to dominate until a minor blip in game eight.
Hurkacz pushed the three-time Madrid champion to deuce, but was unable to get a break point. The world number one then saved two match chances against his own serve before serving it out on his fourth chance to reach the semi-finals in the Spanish city for the first time since 2019.
The victory saw Djokovic increase his 2022 season record to 7-3 and he is set to face either arch-rival Rafael Nadal or sensational youngster Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
After reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final of the year, Djokovic told Amazon Prime: “I value it this year more than in previous years because of the circumstances of everything. Look, I still feel motivated to play and be competitive on court, competing with most of the young guys.
“Obviously there’s a change in generation, but the oldies, we’re still out there. We are guys with experience trying to make them run on the court. One thing is for sure, I will definitely play as long as I enjoy it.”
The Serbian continued: “In the first set, we both didn’t play so great, there were a lot of unforced errors. It took us both time to really adjust and adapt to the conditions because it was different from the other days as well. In the second set, there was a better quality of tennis.
“I was serving really well in the second. That really kept me alive. He was serving good too. I was pleased with the way I was constructing the point, trying to make him run and overall it was a solid performance. You have to adapt and accept the circumstances and make the most out of them.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
