(Tennis news) To extend Carlos Alcaraz’s winning streak to 14 games, the Spaniard came back to defeat Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6(2), and 7-6(3). Alcaraz won the third-round match on his fifth match point after holding a 5-2 advantage and serving for the match twice in the decisive set.
Regarding his third-set slide, Alcaraz admitted, “Honestly, I didn’t know what occurred. “At that point, I began to feel unwell. In my shots, I was unable to feel correctly. I was unaware of what occurred. But I was actually contemplating how to maintain my composure, look for solutions to the issues, and rediscover my positive feelings. I believe I began to feel better after five or six servings.
“The big players have that feeling to find a way to stay alive and try to end the match playing well.”
Early in the match, Alcaraz struggled to reach his peak performance, making unforced forehand errors as the Pole won the opening three games for just three points. Hurkacz, a semifinalist in Montreal the previous year, played closely to the baseline and took the ball early to challenge the No. 1 player throughout the two hours and 38 minutes of the match.
Alcaraz maintained focus after getting broken in the first game of the second set and improved his consistency in long rallies as Hurkacz’s first-serve percentage fell from 69 to 48 percent.
Alcaraz failed to end the match after winning 19 straight games behind his serve from late in the second set until the third. At 5-2, the two-time major champion was serving for a match until Hurkacz won four straight games to send the 12-time tour-level champion into a tie-break.
“In the tough moments you have to believe in yourself, try to go for it,” said Alcaraz, who committed 28 unforced errors to 48 winners. “It doesn’t matter if you win or not. You have to believe you are going to play your best in that moment, try to play aggressive. I think in the two tie-breaks I did pretty well. That’s why I got the win.”
Alcaraz, who is pursuing his seventh championship of the year, has outscored Hurkacz 2-0 in their Lexus ATPHead2Head matchup and has a record of 49-4 overall. He will then take on Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, who defeated the Spaniard in Montreal last year. Alcaraz, who has already won in Indian Wells and Madrid, is making his debut in Toronto this week and is aiming for his third ATP Masters 1000 triumph of the year.
Hurkacz, a six-time tour-level champion with a 27-17 record this year, was going for his second victory over a World No. 1.
With a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow countryman Marcos Giron, Paul advanced to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the year and lined up a third encounter with Alcaraz (1-0). Paul out-struck Giron 22 to 13 while surviving seven of eight breakpoints.
The 14th-ranked player in the world according to the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Paul, won 17 of the 22 points he faced after Giron’s second serve to even their Lexus ATPHead2Head series at 1-1. Paul, a quarterfinalist in Canada the previous year, will attempt to earn his first victory against a top-ranked opponent on Friday.
Also read: Carlos Alcaraz set to play Hubert Hurkacz
