Spain’s top-seeded player, Carlos Alcaraz, overcame a challenging start and a nail-biting finish to defeat Poland’s 15th seed, Hubert Hurkacz, securing his spot in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open tennis tournament.
Alcaraz battled back from a set down to triumph over Hurkacz with a scoreline of 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3), extending his impressive winning streak to 14 matches on Thursday night.
Having his sights set on clinching his seventh title this season, Alcaraz not only maintained an undefeated record of 2-0 in his head-to-head matches against Hurkacz but also bolstered his season record to an impressive 49 wins and 4 losses.
In the next round, Alcaraz is set to face off against the 12th seed, Tommy Paul, who had caused an upset by defeating Alcaraz in Montreal last year.
During the early stages of the match, Alcaraz faced difficulties in finding his top form, resulting in unforced errors, particularly from his forehand side. This allowed Hurkacz to take control by winning the first three games of the match with remarkable efficiency, securing the opening set.
Despite encountering a setback in the opening game of the second set, Alcaraz managed to maintain his focus and gradually found more consistency, especially during extended rallies. This coincided with a decline in Hurkacz’s first-serve accuracy, dropping from 69% to 48%.
As the final set unfolded, Alcaraz capitalized on this growing momentum and swiftly gained a commanding 5-2 lead. However, Hurkacz displayed resilience by fending off not one, but two service breaks against him. The set intensified and remarkably, another tiebreak was needed to determine the outcome.
Alcaraz, making his debut appearance in Toronto this week, has his eyes set on securing his third ATP Masters 1000 title of the year, having previously triumphed in Indian Wells and Madrid. His performance in this tournament is sure to keep tennis enthusiasts at the edge of their seats as they witness his remarkable journey on the court.
-IANS
