Hurkacz opened proceedings, and couldn’t have asked for better, a love game putting him on the board. An ace sealed a 1-0 lead. Djokovic levelled, and then Hurkacz once more prevented the famed Serb return from doing damage, extending his run of points won on serve to seven after a second ace. A second service hold saw the Polish player ahead 2-1.
The next two games had both players under pressure at the line.
Djokovic went to deuce three times, wasting two game points on the way. Hurkacz gained the first break point of the match after Djokovic netted a backhand volley. An ace fixed things. A pair of wide Hurkacz backhands finished the game and scores were 2-2.
Hurkacz was steady under immense pressure in the fifth game, saving break point on three separate occasions, the first one with an ace, the second with an inexplicable Djokovic forehand mistake, the third with a netted return.
In the second stretch of five games, a total of only four points went against serve, and at the end of it all, games were 5-5. Out of the blue, Djokovic had his younger opponent down 0-40, with an astonishing return and two straight Hurkacz double faults. All three break points were saved, a big serve, a Djokovic error, and a forehand winner taking it to deuce. Djokovic held a fourth break point thanks to a lucky net cord, and the break came when a Polish forehand landed long.
Djokovic served at 6-5 for the set, and from 0-30 he won three successive points to reach set point. It was saved with a netted Serb forehand. The second set point was converted when a Hurkacz return failed to reach the net. 7-5 Djokovic who struggled to reach his best level, thanks in main part to the efforts of Hurkacz.
Set two was, for ten of eleven games, safe for serve, with deuce not being reached. The seventh game was an opportunity missed by Djokovic, three break points not used. In the twelfth game, Djokovic was the player under pressure. After leading 30-15, he pushed a forehand wide then a backhand the same, and faced down a set point. A Hurkacz return was out of court and Djokovic was saved for the moment. Hurkacz earned another set point with a brilliant diving backhand volley, but a forehand missed and Djokovic survived. The serve was held and a tie break required. The tennis had lifted to a fitting level.
Of the first eight points, six went against serve, and it was 4-4.
At 5-5, on the Djokovic serve, Hurkacz drilled a backhand down the line to bring up set point. A forehand winner, based on a huge serve, was the shot to square the match at a set all 5-7 7-6(5).
Set three was a Djokovic benefit. Angry at dropping set two, the top seed surrendered just five points in four service games, while breaking the Hurkacz delivery in the second and sixth games. Serving at 5-1, Djokovic hit a forehand winner and an ace on the way to reaching two set points. The deal was done after Hurkacz missed a forehand return.
The fourth set offered only two break point episodes, and sadly for Hurkacz neither were offered to him. He survived the one which arrived in the fifth game, but the earlier one was more dire. In game three, Djokovic gained two break points, Hurkacz over hitting a forehand and netting another. The break was achieved on the first of the break points when the Polish forehand failed again.
Djokovic served for the match at 5-4, starting with a serve volley combination finishing in open court. 30-0 with Hurkacz dragged from side to side until he was unable to do anything but bash a backhand into the base of the net. A couple of loose Djokovic forehands found the net, and had the crowd hoping that maybe a comeback was possible. That hope lasted a nano second, as a winning Serb forehand restored reality, saw Hurkacz land heavily, and instituted a match point. A quality serve was unable to be returned legally, and Novak Djokovic won in four sets 7-5 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4.
Yet another fourth round awaits the defending champion.
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