The ninth-ranked Pole did not qualify for the prestigious tournament in Italy, but served as the first substitute for this year's ATP Finals, where the top eight players of the year compete to close the season.
Hurkacz on Tuesday played an exhibition match against American world No. 10 Taylor Fritz, the second reserve for the tournament.
Their encounter filled the gap created when Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas did not finish his match against Denmark's Holger Rune due to an injury. When it became clear that the Greek would be forced to withdraw from the tournament, the Pole was called in to take his place.
Hurkacz will face Djokovic in Turin on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. local time.
The Pole has no chance of advancing to the semifinals of the season-ending tournament because he will only play one match in the group stage as a late substitute.
But he could still end the season with a bang by beating the world's top-ranked player.
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Source: Przegląd Sportowy, weszlo.com