Hurkacz Handles Felix, Sets Kyrgios Clash In Halle

With the help of some unorthodox on-court tactics, Hubert Hurkacz’s run continued Friday at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.

The fifth seed Hurkacz found something extra in both tie-breaks as he edged Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(2, 7-6(4) to reach his third semi-final of the season at the ATP 500 event.

A match featuring no breaks of serve and just one break point went the way of the Pole after an absorbing one hour, 47 minutes, but Hurkacz later admitted that his inability to make a dent in the Canadian’s serve had led to him trying something different in return games on OWL Arena.

“Grass is a tricky service,” said Hurkacz after the match. “I had absolutely no chance on the return. In the middle of the second set, I was guessing wrong all the time. I had another idea. I was looking at the shot clock, and if the number was even, I was going left and if the number was odd, I was going right. So that was my tactic for the return.”

Hurkacz reeled off six points in a row from 1/2 in the first-set tie-break to move ahead and held his nerve in a similar fashion in the second set to secure his first win against Auger-Aliassime in three attempts.

Hurkacz was relieved to prevail in a tight encounter. The 2021 semi-finalist Auger-Aliassime fired 38 winners to Hurkacz’s 23 and won 89 per cent (41/46) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Yet the Pole held firm to fend off break point and hold for 4-3 in the opening set and found his sharpest tennis in both tie-breaks to triumph.

“Probably nothing,” said the Pole when asked what he had done better than his opponent on the day. “Felix was playing really good, he had more chances during the first set. I was feeling confident on my serve. Maybe I wasn’t serving my best, but I was holding and obviously with his powerful serve I had no chance on the return. I was just trying to get to the tie-break.”

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The fifth seed next takes on wild card Nick Kyrgios in a blockbuster semi-final at the ATP 500 event. Both Hurkacz and Kyrgios are chasing their maiden title of 2022 and their first career title on grass in north-west Germany. Hurkacz is expecting another challenging day on return against the big-serving Australian.

“Obviously he’s such a great player,” said Hurkacz when asked about his next opponent. “He has amazing hands and a great serve so it’s going to be super tough. I just need to keep holding my serve hopefully and try to maybe get a chance or two.”