Hurkacz vs Djokovic LIVE! Wimbledon 2023 latest build-up, score and updates from Centre Court
urkacz vs Djokovic LIVE!
Novak Djokovic will be confident of extending his remarkable Centre Court run when he faces Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon this evening. The defending champion has not lost on SW19’s biggest stage since defeat in the 2013 final to Andy Murray, boasting a perfect record since then.
That run includes three straight-set wins this week to see him through to the fourth round in routine fashion, with Stan Wawrinka comfortably beaten on Friday night. It would be a huge shock if Djokovic was not appearing in the final in seven days’ time, where victory would see him move alongside Roger Federer on eight Wimbledon titles.
Hurkacz reached the semi-finals here two years ago and has been faultless this week too, and he did take a set off Djokovic when they met in the Wimbledon third round back in 2019. Follow Hurkacz vs Djokovic with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
Live updates
Two match points saved!
It’s not time quite yet for Djokovic and Hurkacz to take to centre court.
Swiatek has just saved two match points against Bencic, and she’s taken it to a second set tie-break.
A brilliant match so far, two hours and six minutes played and it’s not done yet!
Over on Court One…
Elina Svitolina has work to do if she is going to extend her Wimbledon run.
She lost the first set to Victoria Azarenka, and currently leads the second 4-3 with it still on serve.
That’s the final match of the day on Court One, with Jessica Pegula and Jannik Sinner already securing wis.
Centre Court update
Nothing to separate Swiatek and Bencic in the second set as it stands.
The world number one earned an early break, but Bencic has got it back on serve and it’s firmly in the balance at 4-4.
Reminder that the 14th seed took the opening set 7-6, so she’s just a couple of games away from knocking Swiatek out.
Djokovic vs Hurkacz to follow at the conclusion of this match.
Murray working hard…
It’s been a busy old day for Jamie Murray.
He’s played five sets today, four of which have gone to tie-breaks, and secured wins in both the mixed doubles and the men’s doubles.
That wasn’t enough though – decided he needed a bit more of a workout to finish things off.
Possible route to the final
Time to get ahead of ourselves.
Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals should he get through tonight’s test, after the Russian beat Alexander Bublik in a five-set thriller earlier today.
It would then be either Jannik Sinner or Roman Safiullin in the semi-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz potentially waiting in the final in seven days’ time.
The same applies for Hurkacz, of course, should he pull off a huge upset.
Djokovic embracing pressure
Novak Djokovic admits he feels “tremendous pressure” ahead of every match he plays at Wimbledon, but insists that is a positive for him in his search for a 24th Grand Slam title.
He said: “Every time I walk out on the court, particularly in Grand Slams and centre courts, I feel, of course, tremendous pressure and expectations from myself, from people around that are watching live or on TV, the whole tennis world, right?
“It’s a feeling that I’m used to by now, and it’s something that I also embrace because it’s giving me further motivation to strive to make more history.”
Bencic takes it!
If Swiatek is going to make it beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, she’s going to have to do it the hard way.
The world number one is in trouble on Centre, with Bencic taking the tie-break 7-4 and playing superbly. The upset is very much on the cards.
Tie-break time!
Turning into some match between Swiatek and Bencic on Centre Court.
Just shy of an hour played and the first set is going to a tie-break, Bencic really testing the world number one.
Looks like we won’t be seeing Djokovic and Hurkacz until around 7:30pm at the earliest…
Djokovic on Hurkacz threat
“He covers the court very well,” Djokovic said of Hurkacz after beating Wawrinka.
“He has very long arms. When he comes to the net, he has a very good feeling at the net. He closes the net very well. Just overall very complete player. I don’t see too many holes in his game really.
“So I know that’s going to definitely be the toughest challenge for me of the tournament so far. He didn’t drop a set so far in the tournament. I saw how he was playing. He’s very comfortable playing on grass.
“He beat Federer here some years ago. He’s a player that doesn’t mind playing on a big stadium. As you mentioned, super nice guy, someone that I really, really like off the court. It’s going to be great battle. I look forward to that. I know I have to be at my best to win.”
Late-night win for Djokovic
It was a high-profile encounter for Djokovic on Friday night, as he faced Stan Wawrinka on Centre.
Wawrinka was not in particularly upbeat mood ahead of the match, claiming he had “zero” chance of winning Wimbledon and admitting Djokovic was almost certain to win, and he fell to a straight-sets defeat.
Djokovic beat the 11pm Wimbledon curfew too, with 14 minutes to spare.
