Injury forces seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz to withdraw from Wimbledon match

Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, seen as an outside tip for the Wimbledon title, was forced to withdraw from his second round match against Arthur Fils with a knee injury on Thursday. Seventh-seeded Hurkacz, who reached the semi-finals in 2021 after ending eight-time champion Roger Federer’s career at Wimbledon, was injured diving for the ball during the fourth-set tie-break. After limping back to his seat on court two, he continued for two more points but eventually withdrew to give 20-year-old Fils a place in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Fils won the first two sets 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Hurkacz took the third 6-2 and scored set point in the fourth before his afternoon ended prematurely.

“It’s not nice to beat a friend like that. We had a very good match, he was diving everywhere,” said Fils, 34th.

“I hope he improves quickly. Now I’m focused on the next round.”

Fils will face either Roman Safiullin of Russia or Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic for a place in the round of 16.

“In the past, I didn’t like grass very much, but I discovered that I can play it very well,” said the Frenchman.

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