Thriller in Hubert Hurkacz's match. The Pole's show of strength in the second set
Hubert Hurkacz faced Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round of the ATP tournament in Rome. The two tennis players have never played against each other before. The lower-ranked Argentine caused a lot of problems for the Pole.
Monday was devoted to Polish tennis. First, Iga Świątek eliminated Angelique Kerber and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Rome. In this phase of the competition, the first racket in the world will face Madison Keys.
Hubert Hurkacz had problems in the first set
Some time later, Hubert Hurkacz, who is just playing for the 1/8 finals of the men's version of this tournament, played his match on the courts in Rome. Let us remind you that the Pole received a free ticket, so he started from the second round, and in this phase of the competition his rival was the legendary Rafael Nadal. It was the first time for a Pole to meet one of the greatest tennis players in history. The Wrocław player confidently won the match without losing his serve, defending break points seven times and breaking the 37-year-old four times.
Now his rival was Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Both players have not had the opportunity to face each other yet, but the slightest favorite was the Pole, who is ranked higher and seeded in these competitions. Let us recall that the Argentine is in 28th place in the ATP rankings.
From the beginning of this match, Tomas Martin Etcheverry set difficult conditions. Already in the first game, the Argentine had an opportunity to break the Pole, who fortunately defended himself and defended his pass. In the second game, the 28th racket in the world confidently won her serve without losing even a point. Both tennis players were neck and neck, so a tie-break was needed to determine the winner. Hurkacz turned out to be better and won 9:7.
Hubert Hurkacz had the first break point in the second set
In the second set, Hubert Hurkacz had a lot of problems. The Argentinian caused a lot of problems for the Pole on his serve, but in the end our representative came out on top in this clash. With the score 1-1, the Wrocław player had the first break point in the match and took advantage of this opportunity to take the lead.
In the next game, “Hubi” confirmed the break, although it was not easy, because the Argentine did everything he could to equalize. This first break gave the Pole some wind in his sails, and with the score 3:1 he repeated this feat. Ultimately, the set ended with a score of 6:2 and the entire match with a score of 2:0. This is the first time in his career that the Wroclaw native advanced to the fourth round of the tournament in Rome.