But the world number one had to look forward to a victory by Vienna champion Jannik Sinner over Holger Rune in the final game of the green group that evening. If Roon wins, the Danes and Italians will advance.
Djokovic celebrated his second victory in Turin, but he had to worry about his twelfth semi-final appearance at the “Masters” until Thursday evening. So he had to keep his fingers crossed for the man who had defeated him 7:5,6:7(5),7:6(2) after a thrilling 3:09 hours of battle on Tuesday. Sinner, on the other hand, was able to take it easily as he is the second semi-finalist after Daniil Medvedev. The South Tyrolean is the first Italian to make the semi-finals in the event’s 54-year history.
During the TV interview with “Sky”, Djokovic was clearly irritated as he was asked why he was angry after losing the second set against Hurkacz. “Why, I forgot a sentence?” Afterwards he just wanted to say “good win” about the match and walked away. The background was probably this: Had Djokovic won in two sets, Rune’s win over Sinner would have put him even further ahead in some circumstances. Losing a set left the 24-time major champion with few options. A defeat would not be as bad for the sinner as he has now suffered.
