Hurkacz Blunts Tsonga Attack

  • Posted: Feb 07, 2022

Hubert Hurkacz bounced back from a disappointing second-round defeat at the Australian Open by advancing at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament on Monday.

The fourth seed, who lost to Adrian Mannarino in Melbourne, moved past French wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-6(7) in one hour and 32 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“Jo is an amazing player and competitor,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “He brought a really high level and it was a really tough match for me and he is definitely on the way back. Jo has achieved so much in his career and playing against him you can see why with his shots and his serve. I appreciated playing him and I am happy with the win today.”

Hurkacz is making his third appearance in Rotterdam and was strong on serve against the former World No. 5, firing nine aces and winning 83 per cent (33/40) of points behind his first delivery to triumph. The four-time tour-level titlist also saved two set points in the second-set tie-break at 5/6 and 6/7.

The Pole enjoyed a standout 2021 season, winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami, before competing at the Nitto ATP Finals. However, this week he will be aiming to reach his first quarter-final at an ATP 500 event since 2019, when he advanced to the last eight in Dubai.

The World No. 11 will next meet #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Swede Mikael Ymer in the second round.

Tsonga lifted the trophy in Rotterdam in 2017 and was trying to earn his second-tour level victory of the season on Monday.

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