Montreal 12 August : Hubert Hurkacz survived an attack from Nick Kyrgios to reach his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal on Friday, in overcoming the Australian 7-6(4), 6-7(5) 6-1, on Court Central. In a thrilling clash during the National Bank Open, the Pole adjusted to the 27-year old’s rapid play on serve, and he hit with force through his own string to win after just one hour and 46 minutes.
The time was then improved to 31-13 for the season.
The previous week’s Washington champion Kyrgios was in great form winning 15 of his last 16 games, with the only loss was against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
However, after a frantic and intense first two sets the Australian could not match the Pole’s intensity in the third set with the eighth seed Hurkacz crushing a tired Kyrgios who was struggling physically to improve to 11-6 in the decisive sets of this year.
Hurkacz currently leads Kyrgios by 2-0 in Kyrgios is now 2-0 ahead in their ATP Head to Head series and has boosted his record from 28-1 to 28-1 following having won the first set earlier this year.
The 25-year-old who won in Miami in 2021 and will be aiming to win his second ATP Masters 1000 crown against fourth seed Casper Ruud or home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime.
In a spirited match both players appeared strong on serve for long durations.
Kyrgios was averaging 10 seconds between points in the first two sets , and he often interrupted the roars of the crowd with his fast-paced style while Hurkacz was quick to get ready for his return.
The Pole won a close first set in the tie-break with a backhand win, before Kyrgios came for the win in the second set.With the aid of an net cord that was 3/2 in the tie-break in the second set Kyrgios World No.27 was able to get a crucial mini-break before he took the match to a draw with his seventh point of the set.
Third-set pushes were too far for Kyrgios however, with the Australian seemingly tired of the courts made of hard rubber in Montreal.Hurkacz immediately broke off at the beginning of the decisive set, but he held his serve to win.
This season, Hurkacz clinched his fourth tour-level title in Halle and is currently ranked 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin as he hopes to be a second player at the Nitto Finals of the ATP.
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