Hubert Hurkacz is a Top 30 player with one ATP Tour title and five Top 10 victories.

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the 23-year-old.

1) He Ended A National Title Drought In Winston-Salem
At the 2019 Winston-Salem Open, Hurkacz became the first Polish man to win an ATP Tour singles title since Wojtek Fibak in 1982. After coming from a set down to defeat Duckhee Lee in his opening match, the third seed overcame 16th seed Feliciano Lopez, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, second seed Denis Shapovalov and top seed Benoit Paire to claim the ATP 250 trophy.

“That is a lot of time [without a Polish champion]. I am so glad that I have been able to win an ATP Tour event,” said Hurkacz. “I hope many more guys will join me soon and that I will win some more. It means a lot to me and I am glad that I won this tournament here.”

2) He Began 2020 In Top Form
Hurkacz made an impressive start to the 2020 ATP Tour season, winning his opening six matches of the year.

Despite holding the lowest FedEx ATP Ranking of the No. 1 singles players in his group, the 23-year-old finished the inaugural ATP Cup with a 3-0 record in singles. Hurkacz recovered from a set down to beat Top 15 stars Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman, and he dropped just four games against Borna Coric.

The Pole continued his run of form at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Lorenzo Sonego, Mikael Ymer and Feliciano Lopez to reach the last four in New Zealand.

3) He Enjoys A Social Media Challenge
During lockdown, many ATP Tour stars have used some of their free time to participate in social media challenges. Hurkacz is no exception.

After being nominated for the #thefloorislava challenge, Hurkacz got creative. The Polish No. 1 posted his attempt on Instagram, showcasing his tennis skills while travelling around his apartment without touching the floor.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thanks @oskimichalek for nomination #thefloorislava ? I nominate @zielaczekk @steviej345 @klimekinc @atptour @wojtek_marek_ @zuniotennis @michal_przysiezny @johnrisner #tennisathome @grupa_lotos @emocjedopelna @yonex_tennis @tennistv

A post shared by Hubert Hurkacz (@hubihurkacz) on Apr 19, 2020 at 10:38am PDT

4) He Found Immediate Success With Coach Craig Boynton
Hurkacz began working with Craig Boynton, former coach of Jim Courier and John Isner, at last year’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Prior to that event, Hurkacz owned an 0-2 record at ATP Masters 1000 events.

In their first event together, Hurkacz defeated three consecutive Top 30 players to advance to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

“To work on new things together for the first time at tournaments is really difficult, but he was amazing at [processing] the information we went over,” said Boynton. “He put it to work very quickly and one thing led to another. The snowball got a little bigger and a little bigger and it was just something that kind of happened.”

In his second event alongside Boynton, Hurkacz beat Matteo Berrettini and Dominic Thiem in straight sets to reach the Miami Open presented by Itau third round.

5) Everyone Is Welcome In His Kitchen
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurkacz gave his fans an inside-look at one of his typical breakfast meals. The Pole, who made the decision to become a vegan over two years ago, used strawberries, cashews and a number of other ingredients to create the dish.

Members of the ATP Coach Programme in collaboration with ATP have launched a series of exclusive fan experiences in support of coaches affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative, hosted on fundraising platform Givergy, gives tennis fans the opportunity to bid for once-in-a-lifetime experiences through auctions and prize draws. Experiences include private coaching sessions with legendary ATP coaches including Paul Annacone, Boris Becker, Darren Cahill, Brad Gilbert, Goran Ivanisevic, Ivan Lendl, Ivan Ljubicic, Carlos Moya, Patrick Mouratoglou and Marian Vajda. Sessions will take place onsite at 2021 ATP Tour and Grand Slam events and include a combination of match tickets, premium hospitality and unique behind-the-scenes access. Exclusive merchandise will also be made available on the platform.

The initial three-week bidding window will take place from 8-29 June 2020, with future rounds and experiences to be announced. Funds raised will be allocated by the ATP Coaches Committee to support the members of the ATP Coach Programme, whose ability to work has been impacted by the ongoing pandemic. In addition, a part of proceeds will be donated to a global COVID-19 relief fund.

“It is great to see coaches and tournaments offer some truly incredible and unique experiences to our fans,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the ability of many people to work and coaches are no exception. The fact this initiative also helps fellow members of the tennis family during this uncertain time shows the unity and innovative spirit of tennis.”

“Coaches play a huge role in our sport and we wanted to do something creative to support the wider coaching community. I am proud so many tennis icons and tournaments are getting behind this,” said Dani Vallverdu, ATP Coach. “I am really excited for fans to enjoy these unique tennis experiences and hopefully leave with some unforgettable memories.”

For more information on available experiences and merchandise or to donate to the initiative please visit the Givergy website.

Alongside tournaments in Hamburg, Halle and Munich, the MercedesCup in Stuttgart is one of four German events on the ATP Tour calendar. The ATP 250 tournament, held at Tennis Club Weissenhof, switched from clay to grass in 2015.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) A Week To Remember
After missing 11 weeks of the 2018 ATP Tour season, Roger Federer made a successful return to action in Stuttgart. Making his third straight appearance at the ATP 250 event, the Swiss defeated Mischa Zverev, Guido Pella and Nick Kyrgios to reach the final and guarantee a return to World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. In the championship match, Federer saved both break points he faced to beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3) for his maiden Stuttgart trophy.

2) One Last Victory For Haas
Tommy Haas may have defeated two Top 15 players en route to the 1999 championship match in Stuttgart, but the 6’2” right-hander’s biggest victory at the grass-court ATP 250 came in 2017. After battling past Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round, the wild card saved a match point to stun top seed Federer 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Haas withstood 23 aces and was forced to save nine of 12 break points to advance to his third quarter-final at the event. It proved to be the final victory of the German’s career, with Haas retiring from the sport at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel later that year.

“I’m a little bit speechless that I beat him today. It’s been a while since I have won back-to-back matches and to do it today against Roger is obviously one of my career highlights. It’s a very special feeling,” said Haas.

3) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the MercedesCup provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the 2020 ATP Tour season.

Since the tournament transitioned to grass in 2015, three of the four Stuttgart champions have followed their title runs with success at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle. Federer, the 2018 champion, advanced to the championship match at the grass-court ATP 500 tournament, while 2016 winner Dominic Thiem and 2019 titlist Matteo Berrettini reached the last four in Halle.

4) From Clay To Grass, Makes No Difference To Rafa
After a long tradition of clay-court tennis, the MercedesCup transitioned to grass in 2015 as part of an extended grass-court season. The change was welcomed by former World No. 2 Haas, who made seven appearances at the event during his career.

“I think it is great that they finally realised to make it a little bit of a longer grass-court season,” said Haas. “It is one of my favourite surfaces to play on, so that’s great, I think. It’s great for German tennis.”

Nadal twice won the title on clay before winning the inaugural grass-court event in 2015. In 2005, in his third appearance at the event, the Spaniard didn’t drop a set en route to the title, beating Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. After returning two years later and taking out Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the final, Nadal had won 21 straight sets at the tournament.

Eight years would elapse before Nadal would return to Stuttgart for the first grass-court edition. He survived tough three-setters against Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic before beating Gael Monfils in the semis and Viktor Troicki in the final to extend his winning streak at the tournament to 14 matches.

5) An All-Star Honour Roll
Since 1978, Stuttgart has crowned a number of high-profile champions. In fact, seven former World No. 1s have lifted the trophy in Stuttgart: Bjorn Borg (1981), Ivan Lendl (1985), Andre Agassi (1988), Thomas Muster (1995, ’96), Gustavo Kuerten (1998, 2001), Rafael Nadal (2005, ’07, ’15) and Federer (2018) have all triumphed at the ATP 250 event.

Lendl (1985) and Kuerten (1997) also claimed the doubles trophy in Stuttgart. Other doubles winners include Jan Kodes and Tomas Smid (1978), Colin Dowdeswell and Frew McMillan (1979, ’80), Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara (1981), Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez (1988), Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (2017) and John Peers and Soares (2019).

The Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which began at the inception of the ATP Tour in 1990, is one of only two Dutch events on the ATP Tour calendar.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, the Libema Open provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the ATP Tour season.

Several champions in ‘s-Hertogenbosch have gone on to achieve success at Wimbledon in the same year. In 2000, when the event was held in the week before The Championships, Patrick Rafter advanced to the championship match at SW19. Former champions David Ferrer and Gilles Muller also built on their title runs at the ATP 250 event, reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

2) Formidable Frenchmen
In recent years, French stars have enjoyed consistent success in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The nation has accounted for five of the seven most recent champions at the tournament, with Nicolas Mahut (2013, ’15-’16), Richard Gasquet (2018) and Adrian Mannarino (2019) lifting the trophy. Since 2013, only Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and Luxembourg’s Muller have broken the French hold on the tournament.

3) A Dream Destination
Surrounded by trees and a tournament lake, the ATP 250 tournament provides a tranquil break from the usual fast-paced lifestyle required on the ATP Tour.

“The atmosphere here, I have to say, is almost like home,” said Marin Cilic. “I am just enjoying my time here and enjoying the nature.”

Tournament director Marcel Hunze also shared his memories of Michael Chang, who visited in 1989 after winning his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

“The first time he came here, he liked it so much that he started fishing the whole day,” said Hunze.

Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are the only three players that average winning more than 40 per cent of their matches after dropping the first set in a best-of-three-set match.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into how players climb the mountain of winning matches after losing set one initially uncovers that no player wins more matches than they lose after stumbling in the opening set. The data set of 42,909 matches includes players that competed in a minimum of 100 ATP Tour matches in their career since 1991, which is when statistics in tennis were first recorded. The data set also excludes retirements and defaults.

The 241 players in the data set averaged coming back to win the match 21.7 per cent of the time (9301/42,909), making it approximately a one in five chance. Tennis is a sport that rewards getting ahead, whether it’s with points, games or sets. Playing from ahead activates the scoreboard as a potential opponent, oftentimes increasing pressure for the player trailing in the match.

The match win percentages of the three players to break through the 40 per cent threshold are:

1. Pete Sampras = 41.33% (62/150)
2. Novak Djokovic = 41.30% (76/184)
3. Roger Federer = 40.17% (92/229)

Within the data set, Sampras won 62 times after dropping the first set, including the following four finals:

•1994 Miami def. Andre Agassi 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
•1997 Philadephia def. Patrick Rafter 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
•1998 Atlanta def. Jason Stoltenberg 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
•1999 Queen’s Club def. Tim Henman 6-7, 6-4, 7-6

Djokovic has come back to win 76 matches after losing the opening set, including 42 times in an ATP Masters 1000 event, with the most being 12 in Rome at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He’s twice won the championship match in Rome after dropping the opening set.

•2008 Rome: Djokovic def. Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
•2014 Rome: Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Federer has won 92 best-of-three-set matches, including nine finals and 16 semi-finals, after dropping the opening set. He has come back to defeat both Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro four times each after dropping the first set throughout his career.

The other eight players in the data set who managed to push their win percentage to north of two wins out of three attempts (>33.3%) are:

•Lleyton Hewitt = 39.6%
•Rafael Nadal = 39.1%
•Andy Murray = 38.7%
•Kei Nishikori = 35.9%
•Stefan Edberg = 35.6%
•Boris Becker = 35.0%
•Michael Stich = 34.6%
•Jo-Wilfried Tsonga = 33.7%

Losing the first set gives you about a 20 per cent chance of victory. The best competitors in the game can double that ratio to around 40 per cent, but nobody has been able to push it up to a break-even record of 50 per cent. There is a lot to be said for a solid warm-up and being the first to break serve.

It’s the time of year that brings a smile to the faces of players and fans. The first week of June marks the arrival of summer in London, as warm weather and sunny skies signal the start of grass-court season on the professional circuit.

The smell of freshly-trimmed lawns waft through the air at the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, with the annual grass season opener held at the 139-year-old ATP Challenger Tour facility. This week would have marked the tournament’s 17th edition, which has attracted some of the ATP’s future stars over the years. Eventual Wimbledon champions Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer both kicked off their professional grass-court careers at this very club, in 1998 and 1999, respectively. In 2018, Alex de Minaur cracked the Top 100 with his first grass-court final appearance. And last year, a total of seven Top 100 players descended on the London suburb.

Of all the storylines to emerge from the Surbiton Trophy, none were as fascinating as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s wild weekend in 2007. The future World No. 5 enjoyed a breakthrough grass campaign. His tour of London would see him lift the trophy in Surbiton, stun Hewitt en route to the third round at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club and sprint to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

The most impressive part of that stretch was an unprecedented weekend, which saw Tsonga take the title in Surbiton and qualify for his first ATP Tour grass-court event at Queen’s. With only 11 miles (17.7 km) separating the two tournaments, the Frenchman was able to achieve the feat by traveling back and forth on Saturday and Sunday. He would compete in – and win – his semi-final and final matches in Surbiton, as well as three qualifying rounds at Queen’s. That’s five matches in just two days!

On Saturday, the 22-year-old’s dizzying journey saw him defeat Chris Guccione in the Surbiton semis in the morning, and then drive an hour to Queen’s Club, where he kicked off his qualifying campaign with a win over Joshua Goodall. The next day, he won his second round of qualifying at Queen’s, took the car to Surbiton for the final of the Challenger, where he defeated Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6(4), and incredibly traveled back to central London once again to punch his ticket to the main draw with a 64-minute win over George Bastl. It was one of the more impressive – and improbable – tales of resilience and determination.

Page 113 of the ATP Rulebook indicates that, when feasible to drive between the two locations, the player can compete in qualifying of the subsequent tournament. The ATP supervisor holds full discretion and it’s the player’s responsibility to be on time for all matches. A marathon match or even a traffic jam can see the plan go up in smoke. Due to the logistics required, the magnitude of Tsonga’s two-day journey would be extremely rare nowadays.

The Frenchman did not stop there, winning two matches in the Queen’s Club main draw, including a straight-set upset of defending champion and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt just three days later. And, later that month, he did not drop a set en route to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. His reward: a Top 100 debut in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Tsonga’s connection with the ATP Challenger Tour is a special one and it extends far beyond his magical weekend in 2007. Last year, the Frenchman faced a long and arduous recovery after undergoing left knee surgery. Having fallen outside the Top 250 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, he would be forced to rediscover his motivation and passion for the game at the Challenger level.

A perennial Top 20 player for his entire career, Tsonga found himself in uncharted territory, competing in his first Challenger tournament since that unforgettable week in Surbiton more than a decade earlier. Despite only needing to play in three events on the circuit in 2019, Tsonga admits it was nonetheless a humbling experience. And one that reminded him of why he first picked up a racquet.

“Playing in Challenger tournaments helped me find the reasons why I was playing tennis again. The conditions are always more difficult. There’s always a battle. You meet with players who are dreaming of being great champions. And even the crowd that is attending is a different crowd.”

Tsonga credited his victory at the Cassis Open Provence for his subsequent triumph at the ATP 250 event in Metz, which propelled him back inside the Top 50. In fact, he would become the biggest mover to the year-end Top 50, soaring 230 spots in total.

“It’s always pleasant to play such tournaments, because then we realize that what we do is exceptional,” Tsonga added. “We get closer to the public when we play Challengers and we listen to what people say and it makes you feel good. It helps you have a different view of your career, of tennis at large and to find pleasure again in playing tennis.”

After three consecutive runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Roger Federer once again stood just one victory away from a place in the history books in 2009.

Following Nadal’s fourth-round exit, the 13-time Grand Slam champion contested what felt like ‘three or four finals’ under increased pressure from fans and the media in Paris. En route to the championship match, Federer produced a stunning comeback from two sets and a break point down against Tommy Haas in the fourth round and also recovered from two sets to one down during his semi-final clash against Juan Martin del Potro.

Bidding to become only the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam, Federer stood across the net from the first player to overcome Nadal on the Parisian terre battue: Robin Soderling. The Swede had stunned fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier with his victory against the four-time defending champion, but the 24-year-old built on his breakthrough performance with wins against Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez to reach his maiden Grand Slam final.

Soderling struggled to discover his best form in the early stages, as Federer charged through the first set after 23 minutes. Steady drizzle and an appearance from an intruder knocked Federer’s rhythm in the second set, as Soderling began to reduce his unforced error count and find success on his serve.

A tie-break was needed to separate the pair and, it was there that Federer stretched his advantage. With three aces and multiple winners, Federer cruised into a 6/1 lead. The second seed landed a fourth ace to claim the second set in emphatic fashion, as the French crowd roared in unison.

The Mutua Madrid Open champion rode the momentum into the third set, breaking Soderling in the opening game. Federer maintained that advantage to serve for the title at 5-4 and, after saving a break point, the Swiss claimed his maiden Roland Garros crown 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 with a powerful serve into Soderling’s forehand.

Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and now, Federer: In his 11th appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam championship, the Basel native had finally joined the exclusive club of Career Grand Slam winners.

“I just think it’s an unbelievable achievement. I’m very proud of my career, obviously. I achieved more than I ever thought I would,” said Federer. “My dream as a boy was to win Wimbledon one day. I won that five times. To get [the Roland Garros title] at the end, as the last remaining Grand Slam, it’s an incredible feeling. The waiting and the age definitely has a big impact on how important and how nice this victory actually is. It’s been a long time coming and I’m happy I got it today. I’m very proud.”

As the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam, Federer was formally welcomed into the club just minutes after his victory. The fifth man to achieve the feat, Agassi, presented Federer with the Coupe des Mousquetaires during the trophy ceremony.

The victory also represented another major milestone in Federer’s career. By lifting his maiden Roland Garros title, the 6’1” right-hander tied Pete Sampras’ then-all-time record haul of 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Federer reached the mark in his 40th Grand Slam appearance, while Sampras captured his 14th major title at his 52nd and final Grand Slam event: the 2002 US Open.

Federer’s tie with Sampras on 14 Grand Slam titles lasted just 28 days. At Wimbledon, the Swiss defeated Andy Roddick in a classic five-set final to claim his 15th major crown and take outright ownership of the top position on the Grand Slam titles leader board.

On 5 June 2016, Novak Djokovic stood one victory away from a place in tennis history.

Competing in his fourth Roland Garros final, the World No. 1 was attempting to become only the third man to hold all four major singles titles at the same time. It was a position he had also been in four years earlier, when he lost the 2012 championship match to great rival Rafael Nadal.

On this occasion, Djokovic would not face the nine-time champion for the trophy. His opponent was Andy Murray, who was appearing in his first championship match on the Parisian terre battue.

The reigning Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion entered the contest with a 23-10 ATP Head2Head record against Murray, which included a 4-2 advantage in Grand Slam finals. Djokovic had beaten Murray to lift his third straight Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open in January, but the two men had split final meetings in Madrid and Rome in the previous month.

After dropping the first set, Djokovic motored towards victory, conceding a combined three games in the second  and third sets before closing out the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

More than 46 years after Rod Laver completed his second Calendar Grand Slam in 1969 (also 1962), Djokovic had joined the Australian and Don Budge (1938) as the third man to hold all four Grand Slam trophies at the same time. The Belgrade-born star also became the eighth man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

“It’s a thrilling moment,” said Djokovic. “One of the most beautiful I have had in my career… It’s incredibly flattering to know that Rod Laver is the last one that managed to do that. There are not many words that can describe it. It’s one of the ultimate challenges that you have as a tennis player. I’m very proud and very thrilled.”

Djokovic’s victory in Paris brought him level with fellow 12-time Grand Slam winner Roy Emerson in fourth place on the Grand Slam titles leader board. The 29-year-old also became the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same year.

Competing in his 10th Grand Slam final, Murray was bidding to join 1935 champion Fred Perry as only the second British man to claim the Roland Garros singles title. Five weeks later, the World No. 2 lifted his third Grand Slam title in front of home fans at Wimbledon.

“This is Novak’s day,” said Murray. “Winning all four Grand Slams at once is a great achievement. This is something that is so rare in tennis. What he’s achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal. I’m proud to be part of it today.”