Hubert Hurkacz begins his Terra Wortmann Open title defence Tuesday against Christopher Eubanks in Halle. The World No. 17 will have some extra voices of support from the stands as he seeks a fast start at the grass-court ATP 500.

The Pole invited the seven winners from the inaugural Hubi Cup, an Under 12s tournament that he founded in his homeland, to Germany as his special guests at the OWL ARENA. Hurkacz was looking forward to showing his best form in front of some of the highest-ranked juniors in Poland.

“I think that’s going to be really cool [to have them at my match] and I hope the kids will enjoy it,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “I think they definitely have a bright future ahead of them and I think seeing the players can also help them see things more clearly for themselves and see the path. I hope they will really enjoy this event.”

Hubert Hurkacz and Hubi Cup Winners” />
^{_{Hubert Hurkacz greets the talented juniors at the tournament hotel in Halle on Monday afternoon. Photo: Andy West/ATP Tour.}}

The inaugural Hubi Cup took place from 1-4 June in Wroclaw, Hurkacz’s hometown. Although the 26-year-old’s ATP Tour commitments prevented him from attending the event, he was impressed with some of the video footage he saw.

“They look good and obviously the kids are playing some great tennis and competing well,” said the six-time ATP Tour titlist. “It’s always fun to see because I was the same. I came from Poland, playing the same [sort of] events.

“It’s really a great sport to bring the kids together and enjoy tennis, to have a nice trip and see some professional players competing. I hope the kids enjoy that and have fun out there.”

Hurkacz defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev en route to the crown a year ago in Halle, where he this week competes as the sixth seed.

Daniil Medvedev got back on track Monday in Halle, where he defeated Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Terra Wortmann Open.

The top seed suffered an opening-round exit last week in Stuttgart, but was never in danger in his first match inside Owl Arena. Medvedev saved all three break points he faced to triumph after 71 minutes.

“It was a really tough match. It was definitely not the best match of my life,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I was still lacking the rhythm a little bit. But [regardless of] that, he played very well.”

The 27-year-old showed no fear of coming forward and won several fun exchanges with the American. He will next play Serbian Laslo Djere, who eliminated home favourite Oscar Otte 7-6(3), 6-3.

“I’m happy to win because sometimes grass is like this. You need to break one time in a set and serve well, and the match is yours,” Medvedev said. “And that’s what I managed to do… I think I had only three games where I had chances on his serve. I managed to take two of them, amazing, and I saved all of the tough moments I had on my serve.”

One year ago, Medvedev advanced to the final in Halle, where he won all eight sets he played en route to the championship match. Once there, he fell to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.

Medvedev has enjoyed success on grass before, having lifted an ATP 250 trophy two years ago in Mallorca. The World No. 3 owns a 65.4 winning percentage on the surface (34-18).

Did You Know?
According to Infosys ATP Stats, Medvedev on Monday became the first player to reach 40 tour-level wins in 2023. He is now 40-7 on the season and five wins clear of Carlos Alcaraz (35-4), who is second on the list.

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a ferocious challenge from Gregoire Barrere to kick-start his Terra Wortmann Open campign on Monday. The second seed edged his French opponent 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) in Halle.

Tsitsipas trailed by a set and a break at 6-7(6), 1-3, but wore Barrere down for a two-hour, 22-minute victory. The Greek was the more consistent player in the second half of the match, particularly during the deciding-set tie-break, as he booked a second-round clash against Nicolas Jarry at the grass-court ATP 500.

“I just tried smiling. It kind of worked,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about how he kept his cool when trailing in the second set. “At that point you think, ‘I’ve been giving 100 per cent’. I was trying to think, ‘What can I do better?’

“I wasn’t too consistent with my returns. He had a few second serves where I tried to do much. I just thought I could have done much better in that department and psychologically I think it helped my opponent [settle].”

🤳 A message from the man of the moment!

⭐️ @steftsitsipas ⭐️ @ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/ue56sFnHyG

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 19, 2023

His victory against the World No. 58 was a gutsy response from Tsitsipas after he began his grass-court season with defeat to Richard Gasquet in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week. The Greek deployed serve-and-volley tactics effectively to forge his comeback inside OWL ARENA, where he won 76 per cent (28/37) of points when he came to the net.

“I feel so in my natural habitat when I’m in front of the net,” said Tsitsipas. “Serve and volleying, I don’t get to do that very often and I feel like grass allows me to do that a bit more… My serve proved to be a massive weapon today in regards of giving me that first volley I was looking for and making my life a bit easier at the net.”

The World No. 5 Tsitsipas is now 32-10 for the 2023 season. The 24-year-old, who reached the championship match at January’s Australian Open and in Barcelona in April, is chasing his first title of the year. The Greek reached the second round in Halle on his two previous appearances, in 2018 and 2022.

Arthur Cazaux has boosted his chances of competing at the Next Gen ATP Finals after rising five places to seventh (300 points) in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

The 20-year-old Frenchman enjoyed an impressive run at the ATP Challenger 125 event in Nottingham, where he came through qualifying to reach the championship match. Cazaux did not drop a set in the main draw en route to the final, with former World No. 1 Andy Murray eventually stopping him.

Cazaux, who is aiming to make his debut at the 21-and-under event this season, captured a Challenger Tour crown in Thailand earlier this season.

The 20-year-old Dominic Stricker has also jumped one spot to eighth (281 points) after advancing to the quarter-finals in Nottingham. The Swiss lefty is bidding to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.

Frenchman Arthur Fils remains in strong contention in fourth (693 points). The 19-year-old will compete at the Cinch Championships this week after coming through qualifying at the ATP 500 grass-court event.