Novak Djokovic wins resumed match to reach Wimbledon quarters

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ESPN.com news services
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July 10, 2023, 11:39 AM ET
3 min read

LONDON -- Defending champion Novak Djokovic was temporarily knocked off course by big-serving Hubert Hurkacz but quickly got back in the groove on Monday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Having edged two tiebreaks late on Sunday before being beaten by the tournament's strict 11 p.m. curfew, Djokovic returned to lose his first set of the tournament before sealing a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 victory.

Djokovic, 36, was not at his best as Hurkacz, of Poland, briefly threatened a comeback. But as he so often does, the record 23-time Grand Slam men's champion found a solution.

Also Monday, No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia reached the quarterfinals for the first time when his fourth-round opponent , Jiri Lehecka, retired injured after losing the first two sets 6-4, 6-2.

Lehecka, 21, who had played a four-hour five-set match against Tommy Paul in the last round, took a timeout after the first set while a trainer treated blisters on his right foot.

Djokovic has matched Jimmy Connors for the second-most Wimbledon quarterfinals reached and will face Russia's seventh seed Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.

Remarkably, Djokovic has now reached 56 Grand Slam quarterfinals, second behind only Roger Federer.

With wind swirling around Centre Court, Djokovic struggled for his usual rhythm and dropped serve for the first time in the match to hand over the third set.

The second seed looked uncomfortable for a while against the 17th seed, who ended Federer's Wimbledon career two years ago.

But Djokovic, of Serbia, pounced to finally the break the Hurkacz serve for the first time at 3-3 in the fourth -- having seen seven previous break points snatched away.

From then on it was straightforward as Djokovic quickly wrapped things up in clinical fashion.

Wimbledon has been Medvedev's least successful Grand Slam tournament. The former world No. 1 has reached four finals, winning the US Open in 2021.

He did not play at Wimbledon last year because of the ban on Russian competitors following the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters contributed to this report.