NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S WIMBLEDON DRAW OPENS UP AFTER SHOCK RETIREMENT FOR 7TH SEED

Novak Djokovic’s path to an eighth Wimbledon may have received an unexpected – and rather unfortunate – boost after Hubert Hurkacz retired injured in his second-round match.

World No 7 Hurkacz, the seventh seed in the Wimbledon draw, was projected to be Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent at the All England Club this fortnight.

With the Pole, a semi-finalist at the event in 2021, in strong for this season, he was widely seen as someone who could stop Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz – and potentially win the title.

However, he will now be sweating on his fitness after a busy summer after disappointingly exiting the event on Thursday.

Hurkacz was handed a tough second-round draw against talented French youngster Arthur Fils, who raced to an impressive two-set lead out on Court 2.

The seventh seed rallied to take the third set and looked likely to force a decider, only for disaster to strike in the tail-end of the fourth set.

At 7-7 in the fourth-set tiebreak, Hurkacz dived across to try and win a point and appeared to land awkwardly on the court.

The world No 7 received a lengthy medical time out and attempted to play on – diving on the court in the next point – but ultimately had to retire down match point, Fils claiming a 7-6(2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 retirement victory.

“It’s tough to win a match like this against a friend,” said Fils on court afterwards.

“We were playing super good in the fourth. We had some great points. He was jumping everywhere. I’m really sorry for him. I hope he will recover quickly.”

Hurkacz’s retirement means that Djokovic will not face a top-eight player until at least the last four, where he is projected to face fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

However, there are still plenty of tests the seven-time Wimbledon champion may have to pass.

The Serbian is projected to play 15th seed Holger Rune in the fourth round, and ninth seed Alex de Minaur is a likely quarter-final opponent at this point.

The Australian has been in career-best form over the past twelve months and has won two titles this season, including on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch just a few weeks ago.

De Minaur has also had a consistent season at Slams in 2024, reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and the quarter-final at Roland Garros, and defeated Djokovic in the United Cup at the beginning of the year.

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2024-07-04T14:53:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd