Home » Who has the advantage between Hubert Hurkacz and Novak Djokovic?

The quarterfinal round in Dubai features Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz as the opponents. The Serb has never lost against Hurkacz and is going for his sixth victory over the Pole in as many matches. Given that he won every match in 2023 and played well in yesterday’s second round, Novak ought to be the favorite.

Against the adversary who won an indoor match last Sunday and played well on an outside court, the Serb will look for return opportunities. 2019 Roland Garros was the first time that Novak and Hubert had ever met. The Serb won his 22nd successive Major match with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory in an hour and 36 minutes.

Djokovic sustained the pressure on the opposition and only lost a single point after his serve. Hubert just once defeated Novak, and he lost half of his points. The Serb controlled the scoreboard and advanced to the following round by grabbing five breaks out of eight opportunities.

A few weeks later, at Wimbledon, they faced off again, and this time Hurkacz battled considerably harder than he had in Paris.

In Dubai, Novak Djokovic is attempting to defeat Hubert Hurkacz for the sixth time.

For the 12th time at the All England Club, Novak won 7-5, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 in three hours to move on to the fourth round.

Before finding his groove in the third set, Djokovic had to work hard in the first two sets. Only one break was recorded by Novak in sets one and two before picking up the speed on his forehand and moving into a higher gear. Hurkacz only had to withstand it during the early stages of the encounter as Djokovic never lost service and increased the pressure.

Both players made a comparable number of winners and unforced errors, but after that suspenseful second set, Novak took the lead. In sets three and four, he delivered one simple hold after another to secure the victory and advance to the next round.

In their third matchup, which took place in the 2021 Paris Masters semifinal, Hurkacz pushed Djokovic to the edge. The Serb advanced to his 54th Masters 1000 final with a nail-biting 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 triumph in two hours and seventeen minutes. After losing the first set, Djokovic improved to win the second set and gather momentum for the deciding.

Hubert saved a match point at 4-5 in the third set to force a tiebreaker, but lost 7-5, sending Novak to the championship match. The Serb dropped serve twice out of three opportunities the Pole was given, and he made four breaks out of 12 opportunities, mostly in the second set when he was in control.

Djokovic did not perform at his peak, but he was still able to win the middle rallies of five to eight strokes and cross the finish line first. In their fourth meeting, which took place in Madrid last spring, the Serb prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and twenty-one minutes to go to the semifinals.

The pressure remained on the opposing side as Djokovic successfully controlled his strokes. The Serb lost 13 points in ten service games while never having to deal with a break point and pushed the Pole to do the same. Hurkacz struggled on the second serve and was broken once in each set to let the world no. 1 advance. Hurkacz committed too many errors and unable to keep up with the opponent’s pace.