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World no. 1 Novak Djokovic celebrated his 48th ATP Finals victory in Turin. Novak took down Hubert Hurkacz 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in two hours and five minutes, delivering his second round-robin stage victory. However, the defending champion is yet to secure a place in the semi-final, and he will finish the competition if Holger Rune beats Jannik Sinner tonight.
Novak took down Hubert for the seventh time in as many matches, losing the second set and firing his engines in the decider to move over the top and add 200 ATP points to his tally. The Pole fired 24 aces and dominated with his first serve, as was expected on the fast hard court.
However, he struggled on the second serve and got broken two times in the final set. Novak served well and faced only one break point in the second set. The Serb failed to defend it, allowing his rival to extend the battle before bringing his A-game in the decider.
Novak Djokovic defeated Hubert Hurkacz in three sets in Turin.
Djokovic had a slight edge in the most dominant shortest rallies up to four strokes. He overpowered Hurkacz in the more extended ones, taming his strokes nicely and moving over the top.
They held once after deuce each in the opening four games. Both players served well in the remaining ones, producing one good hold after another and embracing an expected tie break. Novak raised his level in the pivotal moments and secured four mini-breaks for 7-1 and a boost.
However, he lost his focus at 2-2 in the second set, experiencing a break at love and pushing Hubert 3-2 in front. The Pole held in the next game and found himself 40-15 down in the eighth game. Hurkacz fired up his booming serve and clinched four consecutive points, getting out of jail and moving 5-3 in front.
An alternate served for the set in game ten and held at 15 to clinch it 6-4 and force a decider. Djokovic made a fresh start and produced four commanding holds in the final part of the match. He broke Hurkacz in game four and held in the next for a massive 4-1 advantage.
Losing ground, the lowe-ranked player experienced another blow in game six, falling 5-1 behind and allowing world no. 1 to emerge at the top on his serve in game seven.