World No 1 Novak Djokovic kept alive his hopes of winning a record seventh ATP Finals title after beating Hubert Hurkacz 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in Turin.
Djokovic needed the victory to remain in contention for the semi-finals after losing to Jannik Sinner in a marathon match last time out, but is still reliant on the Italian beating Holger Rune later on Thursday.
World No 4 Sinner is guaranteed at least second spot in the Green Group thanks to Hurkacz, who played his only match of the season-ending tournament as a replacement for the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas, securing the second set against Djokovic.
He becomes the first Italian in the competition's 54-year history to reach the last four and can afford to lose against Rune, which would put Djokovic out of contention in the process.
That would be a disappointing end to what has been an age-defying 2023 from the 36-year-old who won three Grand Slams and took his 1000 Masters crowns to 40, which was another record.
“My kids are arriving tonight, so I don’t think I’ll watch,” said Djokovic, who would surpass Roger Federer to stand alone with seven ATP Finals titles. “I did my job and I’m going to spend tonight with the family. Then tomorrow I can worry about whether I qualified or not.”
All three of the Serbian's group-stage matches have gone to three sets, meaning the defending champion has spent more than eight hours on court at Pala Alpitour.
Playing with nothing to lose, Poland's Hurkacz was a force to reckon with on serve – firing 24 aces in the match – but he ran out of steam in the final set as Djokovic converted break points for the first time in the contest.
He took control at the end of the first set when he rattled off nine points in a row to take a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak and then seal the set.
However, he threw away his serve to love in game five of the second set and two games later looked on in disbelief as Hurkacz rammed home four consecutive aces from 15-40 down to go to within one game of drawing level.
Hurkacz easily saw out the set, drawing warm applause from the home crowd, and with the third set almost irrelevant the Pole collapsed to a visibly annoyed Djokovic.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion now holds a 7-0 head-to-head record against Hurkacz as targets a 12th semi-final berth in 16 appearances at the Finals.
The Details
Kabir Singh
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Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
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Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
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Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
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BMW M5 specs
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
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Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
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