Spoiler:
Pole wins mental battle against Koepfer
Hubert Hurkacz improved his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when he booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals.
The seventh-seeded Pole battled back to overcome Dominik Koepfer, a German lucky loser and conqueror of Andy Murray and Felix Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.
Hurkacz currently sits in the final automatic qualification spot, with 3,135 points in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, 120 points ahead of ninth-placed Italian Jannik Sinner, who lost to #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Hurkacz will next challenge James Duckworth, who advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in one hour and 47 minutes. Duckworth recovered from 1-3 down in the first set.
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Koepfer’s athleticism reaped dividends in the third game, when he scrambled up a drop shot to strike a lob that Hurkacz could not return cleanly. The German’s confidence soared and he completed the 41-minute first set with an ace.
The second set started with four straight service breaks and while Koepfer recovered from 0/40 when serving at 4-5, Hurkacz stepped up two games later to take the pair’s first meeting to a decider.
Errors crept into Koepfer’s game and he struck a backhand wide to gift Hurkacz a 3-2 advantage in the third set. Hurkacz applied the pressure, won the mental battle and broke serve once again at 5-2 to stay in contention for a place in Turin later this month. It was his 35th match win of the year, which includes three ATP Tour titles.
Hubert Hurkacz improved his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when he booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals.
The seventh-seeded Pole battled back to overcome Dominik Koepfer, a German lucky loser and conqueror of Andy Murray and Felix Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.
Hurkacz currently sits in the final automatic qualification spot, with 3,135 points in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, 120 points ahead of ninth-placed Italian Jannik Sinner, who lost to #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Hurkacz will next challenge James Duckworth, who advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in one hour and 47 minutes. Duckworth recovered from 1-3 down in the first set.
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Koepfer’s athleticism reaped dividends in the third game, when he scrambled up a drop shot to strike a lob that Hurkacz could not return cleanly. The German’s confidence soared and he completed the 41-minute first set with an ace.
The second set started with four straight service breaks and while Koepfer recovered from 0/40 when serving at 4-5, Hurkacz stepped up two games later to take the pair’s first meeting to a decider.
Errors crept into Koepfer’s game and he struck a backhand wide to gift Hurkacz a 3-2 advantage in the third set. Hurkacz applied the pressure, won the mental battle and broke serve once again at 5-2 to stay in contention for a place in Turin later this month. It was his 35th match win of the year, which includes three ATP Tour titles.
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