Polish tennis star Hubert Hurkacz edged out Nick Kyrgios in a thriller and afterward said “one or two shots” decided the winner. On Saturday, Hurkacz recovered from a set down to beat Kyrgios 4-6 7-6 (2) 7-6 (4).
Kyrgios earned the first break of the match in the ninth game and served out for the first set in the following game. As no breaks were seen in the second set, the set went into a tie-break, where Hurkacz won five consecutive points to open a 5-1 lead, before realizing his first set point to force a decider.
No breaks were seen in the third set either and a third set tie-break had to decide the winner. The key point of the third set tie-break was Hurkacz winning three points in a row to open a 5-3 lead. Kyrgios won the ninth point to cut the deficit to 4-5, but Hurkacz then won the next two points on his serve to complete a comeback win.
“One or two shots [was the difference],” Hurkacz said, per the ATP website. “Definitely super close. Nick played a really, really great match. He’s a great player, so it was definitely a super tough one.”
Hurkacz set to take on Daniil Medvedev
In the Halle final, Hurkacz plays first-seeded Medvedev. The head-to-head record between the two stands at 2-2. Hurkacz, a four-time ATP champion, will be going for his first title of the season when he meets Medvedev in the final.
Hurkacz is 4-0 in his four ATP finals played. “When you play in the finals, you always want to get the big trophy,” Hurkacz said of his perfect record in those matches. “It’s always super exciting to be part of the last match of the tournament…
I really enjoy playing on grass courts. Of course Daniil is No. 1 in the world. I’ve never beaten a No. 1 in the world before. It’s going to be a tough one but I’ll try to enjoy it and play as good as I can.”
