Novak Djokovic on Thursday stayed on course for his third title of the year by powering into the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Hubert Hurkacz.
The 35-year-old Serbian won in Adelaide before sealing his 22nd Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open while managing a hamstring injury and has hit top form after a slow start in Dubai on his return to the ATP Tour.
Having breezed through the first set on the back of a single break, Djokovic found the going a bit tougher in the next as the big-serving Hurkacz raised his game in search of a first win over the world No. 1 in their fifth meeting.
Photo: AFP
After a crucial hold from 0-30 down to draw level at 5-5, Djokovic grabbed another break to heap the pressure on Hurkacz and the five-time champion closed out the match on serve.
“It was a challenging match as it always is against Hubert,” Djokovic said. “I think he’s got one of the best serves in the game. In the second set, until the 11th game, I didn’t have too many chances against his serve. Fortunately for me, I also found the rhythm on my serve ... one or two points can decide the winner in matches like these. I’m really glad with the way I played under pressure.”
Up next for Djokovic is a meeting with former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who beat Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2.
Earlier, Alexander Zverev reached his first semi-final since last year’s French Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Lorenzo Sonego.
The seventh seed has had a torrid time after injuring his ankle at Roland Garros and undergoing surgery, only returning to the ATP Tour in December last year after suffering a bone edema problem during his rehabilitation.
“It’s been a very difficult time for me over the last nine months,” world No. 16 Zverev said. “I haven’t played tennis at all for such a long period for the first time in my life. It definitely shows that the hard work is paying off, and I’m extremely happy with my progress and how I’m playing right now. I’m happy to be in my first semi-final since the injury. Hopefully, it won’t be my last and hopefully there’s much more to come here.”
Zverev next plays defending champion Andrey Rublev after the combustible Russian overcame a late wobble to get past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Zverev has won each of their five meetings, including their last one in the 2021 Western & Southern Open final in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“It’s going to be tough,” Rublev said. “I have to play good, aggressive tennis.”
HATS OFF: After Sinner became the first man to beat the Serbian in a singles match at the Davis Cup since 2011, Djokovic said all he could do was congratulate his opponent A “proud” Jannik Sinner on Saturday beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic twice in one day to send Italy into the Davis Cup final with a 2-1 win over Serbia in Malaga. Italy, who won the trophy for the first and only time in 1976, was yesterday to face 28-time winners Australia. Sinner, who has triumphed three times in four clashes across 11 days against the usually unstoppable Djokovic, crucially kept Italy in the tie by beating the 24-time Grand Slam winner 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in the second singles rubber. Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego then defeated Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 in
League of Legends (LoL) e-sports clubs in Taiwan are next year to face tougher competition to secure spots in top international tournaments as Riot Games, the game’s developer, is attempting to bolster the weakening e-sports ecosystem in much of Southeast Asia. In a statement on Monday, Riot announced a new upgrade to the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) — a professional league comprising League of Legends clubs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asian countries except Vietnam — to create a more competitive and sustainable ecosystem. It plans to add the top three League of Legends Japan League (LJL) contenders to the
David Benavidez on Saturday retained the interim world super middleweight belt by stopping Demetrius Andrade after the sixth round, while in Ireland, Katie Taylor avenged her only professional loss by beating Chantelle Cameron in a majority decision to become a two-weight undisputed champion. In what was billed as clash of styles that could go the distance between unbeaten 168-pounders (76.2kg), Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) looked more like a clinician with a dominating performance before Andrade’s corner requested the stoppage after the sixth round in Las Vegas. Andrade (32-1) suffered the first loss of his career. Benavidez is widely recognized as the world’s best
AC Milan starlet Francesco Camarda on Saturday made history after becoming the youngest player to compete in Serie A during their 1-0 win over ACF Fiorentina. Attacker Camarda took to the field in the 83rd minute at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza aged 15 years, eight months and 15 days, replacing Luka Jovic. “He’s got a lot of talent and intelligence, he knows that he needs to work harder than everyone else,” Milan captain Davide Calabria said after the match. Camarda, who made headlines when he scored a bicycle kick against Paris Saint-Germain in the UFA Youth League, had little to do as Milan largely