Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz Odds & Prediction – Paris Masters Semifinals
- Novak Djokovic will meet Hubert Hurkacz in the first Paris Masters semifinal Saturday
- The match, in which Djokovic is a heavy favorite, is scheduled to begin at 9:00 am ET
- Read on for analysis, and our best bets
With a title at the Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic will clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record seventh season.
That’s a lot to play for and takes all the pressure off the big one – the ATP Finals in 10 days’ time.
Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz clinched his first participation in the ATP Finals with his quarterfinal win Thursday.
They will play for the third time Saturday. It’s their first meeting at a regular ATP Tour event.
Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) | -4.5 (-140) | -600 | O 20.5 (-115) |
| [7] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) | +4.5 (+100) | +425 | U 20.5 (-115) |
Odds as of Nov. 5 at DraftKings
Djokovic Eases Past Fritz
The head-to-head that Djokovic enjoys against American Taylor Fritz is no accident.
Other than their dramatic match at the Australian Open this year, Fritz hadn’t won a set in their other meetings. And the same held true Friday as Djokovic got through 6-4, 6-3 in a quick one hour, 18 minutes.
The serve is Fritz’s biggest weapon. But Djokovic limited Fritz to just five aces (and Fritz neutralized that himself, with four double faults).
The Serb actually out-aced Fritz, 8-5.
Today's win against Taylor Fritz was also Novak Djokovic's first straight-sets win since USO R2 vs Griekspoor pic.twitter.com/eTV2AyYfgL
— M•N• (@UAE_M77) November 5, 2021
Djokovic broke Fritz five times in all. On the negative side of the ledger, Djokovic himself was broken three times – twice in the first set – even he generally had a good serving day by the numbers.
The Serb will be happy with a straight-sets victory, something that’s been a bit hard to come by of late.
Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz Head-to-Head
| 34 (May 22, 1987) | Age | 24 (Feb. 11, 1997) |
| Belgrade, Serbia | Birthplace | Wroclaw, Poland |
| 6-2 | Height | 6-5 |
| 85 | Career ATP Singles Titles | 4 |
| No. 1 (July 4, 2011) | Career High Ranking | No. 10 (Oct. 18, 2021) |
| No. 1 | Current Ranking | No. 10 |
| $153,120,635 | Career Prize Money | $4,464,469 |
| 47-6 | 2021 Won/Loss record | 36-19 |
| 2 | Career Head to Head | 0 |
A Big Day for Hurkacz
For Hurkacz, a 24-year-old from Poland who broke into the top 10 less than three weeks ago, Friday was a banner day.
But he did it the hard way, needing three tough sets to get past underdog James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5.
Duckworth is playing the best tennis of his career as his 30th birthday approaches in January.
This is his 26th tournament of 2021, an Aussie vagabond unable to get home all year.
He reached his first career ATP Tour final in Kazakhstan last month, and this quarterfinal effort in Paris is by far his best result at the Masters 1000 level.
Hurkacz out-did Duckworth in just about every category, but it still took two hours and 12 minutes for him to get through.
Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz Match History
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Wimbledon (R32) | Grass | 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4 | Djokovic |
| 2019 | French Open (R128) | Outdoor Clay | 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 | Djokovic |
Djokovic the Big Favorite
Hurkacz got 17 aces past Duckworth in the quarterfinals. He had another 18 against lucky loser Dominik Koepfer in the third round, and 13 more in two sets in his opening win against Tommy Paul of the US. That’s 48 aces to just six double faults (none of them against Duckworth).
But given how well Djokovic neutralized Fritz’s big serve Friday, the Pole will be hard-pressed to keep up those numbers.
Given the slowish surface in Paris, it’s even tougher to get the ball past Djokovic whether it’s on the serve, or with a big forehand.
This is the first time they will meet in the standard best-of-three format. Their previous encounters were best-of-five sets at Grand Slam tournaments. And they were more than two years ago when Hurkacz was still hovering on both sides of the No. 50 ranking.
He’s obviously a much better player now even if the dynamic of their matchup is not much changed that much.
Hurkacz also has had a tougher physical road to the semis. And there might be an understandable letdown after one of his bucket-list goals was accomplished on Friday.
Allezzzzz Paris semis let’s go !!! 💪🏼❤️ You all make the atmosphere so special and welcoming to me, thank you so much 🙏🏼 #NoleFam #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/DT9B1pmsHG
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 5, 2021
Still, there are likely to be some close moments – over 9.5 games for the first set (+100) is a good possibility.
Could it go the distance? It definitely could. That’s the best opportunity out there in a match for which Djokovic is heavily favored to win outright.
Best Bet: Over 2.5 sets (+205)
Stephanie gets the straight dope from the tennis insiders. On court, she has represented her country internationally. A BA in journalism led to years on the MLB beat and a decade covering tennis globally. She's written for Postmedia, the Guardian, the New York Times and also publishes OpenCourt.ca.
