Hurkacz Improves Turin Hopes, Plays Duckworth In Paris QFs

  • Posted: Nov 04, 2021

Hubert Hurkacz improved his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when he booked his place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals.

The seventh-seeded Pole battled back to overcome Dominik Koepfer, a German lucky loser and conqueror of Andy Murray and Felix Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.

Hurkacz currently sits in the final automatic qualification spot, with 3,135 points in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, 120 points ahead of ninth-placed Italian Jannik Sinner, who lost to #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Hurkacz will next challenge James Duckworth, who advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 7-6(6), 6-4 victory over fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in one hour and 47 minutes. Duckworth recovered from 1-3 down in the first set.

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Koepfer’s athleticism reaped dividends in the third game, when he scrambled up a drop shot to strike a lob that Hurkacz could not return cleanly. The German’s confidence soared and he completed the 41-minute first set with an ace.

The second set started with four straight service breaks and while Koepfer recovered from 0/40 when serving at 4-5, Hurkacz stepped up two games later to take the pair’s first meeting to a decider.

Errors crept into Koepfer’s game and he struck a backhand wide to gift Hurkacz a 3-2 advantage in the third set. Hurkacz applied the pressure, won the mental battle and broke serve once again at 5-2 to stay in contention for a place in Turin later this month. It was his 35th match win of the year, which includes three ATP Tour titles.

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