Say hello to the fresh face of Polish tennis. Hubert Hurkacz is staking his claim as the European nation’s next superstar and now he has a title to show for it.

On Sunday, Hurkacz captured his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy in ruthless fashion, streaking to the title on home soil in Poznan. The 21-year-old dominated the championship 6-1, 6-1 over top seed Taro Daniel. He needed 59 minutes to lift the trophy, capping a strong week that also included a straight sets win over second seed Guido Andreozzi.

At 21 years and three months, Hurkacz is now the youngest player from his country to triumph on the circuit since Jerzy Janowicz in 2010. He is also the sixth #NextGenATP winner this year, joining Rudolf Molleker (Heilbronn), Taylor Fritz (Newport Beach), Reilly Opelka (Bordeaux), Marc Polmans (Launceston) and Jaume Munar (Prostejov).

It has been an impressive 2018 campaign for the Wroclaw native, also highlighted by his first Grand Slam match win a week prior at Roland Garros. He came through qualifying and upset Tennys Sandgren in the first round, before falling to third seed Marin Cilic in four tight sets.

And most importantly, Hurkacz has ascended to a career-high No. 121 in the ATP Rankings, becoming Poland’s No. 1 player. He is also up three spots to 10th in the ATP Race To Milan, with the Top 7 players (plus one wild card) qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November.

2018 #NextGenATP First-Time Winner Spotlight: Molleker | Polmans

Hurkacz spoke to ATPWorldTour.com following his victory in Poznan… 

Hubert, congrats on winning your first Challenger title. How does it feel?
It’s great to win my first Challenger in Poland. It’s an indescribable experience for me. I think I would have enjoyed it the same if I won abroad, but it’s something special to win in my country.

Taro is a Top 100 player and you dominated the final from start to finish. Talk about the match.
Taro’s style was suitable for me and I think this was the key to my success. I took the initiative and I served the ball really well, so I could end the match quickly. Taro was unstoppable during his last few matches, but I did well too. I didn’t focus on his success this week, because my goal was to win this match.

You beat some strong players during the week. What went right for you?
My key to success was to do my best and it happened throughout the week. Of course, I had difficult moments and then I raised my level. Today I had these moments but I stepped up in the big points. I just had to keep my concentration all the time on court.

2018 #NextGenATP Challenger Winners (born 1997 or later)

It’s been a great year for you so far. Tell us about the biggest thing you’ve learned while competing on the ATP Challenger Tour.
To stay positive. That was the biggest change. To be more solid during the matches and not having as many ups and downs. I’m competing at a higher level and am now able to win against better opponents. It’s good.

Talk about the experience at Roland Garros. How much confidence did it give you?
For sure, I’ve won in Poznan thanks to the experience from the French Open. I had to beat good players at both events. Generally both of them – Poznan Open and Roland Garros – made me stronger. Now I know that I can win trophies.

For those of us who don’t know much about you, tell us something. What do you enjoy doing off the court? Do you have any passions outside of tennis?
I’m really passionate about cars. It’s my hobby and I really like them. I love to drive. And I like to go to the racing circuit and watch them, when I have time. I also like reading books. It’s relaxing for me. Sometimes I read books that help me on the court with the mental side.

You are up to a career-high in the Top 150 of the ATP Rankings. Did you set any goals at the start of the year and what are they now?
I think it’s possible to move into the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings. That’s my goal. I haven’t trained yet on grass, so I’m not prepared for Wimbledon, but I will train and try to to make Polish fans enjoy my results.

Novak Djokovic said after his quarter-final loss at Roland Garros that he was unsure if he would compete during the grass-court season. But the Serbian has ended any uncertainty, accepting a wild card into next week’s Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club.

“I am very excited to be playing the Fever-Tree Championships again. I have happy memories of reaching the final at The Queen’s Club 10 years ago and also winning the doubles title the last time I was there,” Djokovic said according to a press release. “The grass courts are always perfect, the atmosphere always great and I am looking forward to playing in front of the British crowds again.”

It will be the Serbian’s fourth main draw appearance at the event, and his first since 2010. Djokovic advanced to the championship match in 2008 before falling to Rafael Nadal.

“We have been hoping Novak would come back to play in the Fever-Tree Championships for years and this is fantastic news for all of us,” Tournament Director Stephen Farrow said. “Novak is one of the best players in the sport’s history, he adds even more strength to our player line-up, and we can’t wait to see him on grass at The Queen’s Club.”

Djokovic joins a star-studded lineup at the ATP World Tour 500-level event, which includes World No. 1 Nadal, five-time winner Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and World No. 5 Marin Cilic. In total, 11 players inside the Top 20 of the current ATP Rankings will be in action, with other exciting stars such as Nick Kyrgios and #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov also on the entry list. Defending champion Feliciano Lopez will attempt to retain his title.

Four of Djokovic’s 68 tour-level titles have come on grass, including his most recent championship victory at Eastbourne last season. The 31-year-old will attempt to maintain the momentum he gained from his semi-final showing in Rome, followed by his trip to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer makes his long-awaited return to action this week at the MercedesCup, competing for the first time since Miami. And right away, there is a lot on the line for the Swiss. If the top seed reaches the final, he will regain the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings on 18 June.

“I think that’s a bit of extra motivation,” said Federer, who trails Nadal (8,770 points) by 100 points. “But then again, having lost here last year in the first round, for me, it resets the goals as well, and just take it one at a time and don’t think too far ahead. Not that I did that last year, but on grass, margins are very slim. It’s not so simple, especially when you haven’t played in three months.”

Federer holds a 2-2 record in Stuttgart, including an opening-round loss last year against Tommy Haas. But he then went on to triumph at Halle and Wimbledon, building what would turn into a 16-match winning streak.

“I came back very strong and my reaction was very good after losing here against Tommy,” Federer said. “I didn’t drop a set for the rest of the grass-court season, which I was very happy about. So I just hope I can find my rhythm and range a bit earlier. But very excited to be here. I’m motivated because of all these reasons. It’s been a while, I haven’t played matches, so I’m happy. Obviously I don’t want to be on a three-match losing streak… I want to break that as well.”

On 19 February, Federer regained World No. 1 for the first time since 4 November 2012, holding the spot for five weeks before his loss in Miami against Thanasi Kokkinakis allowed Rafael Nadal to take it back. While Federer took the spot again for the week of 14 May, Nadal has held it since thanks to victories in Rome and at Roland Garros, which was no surprise to the 36-year-old.

“I kind of expected Rafa to win the French Open,” Federer said. “He was again that good on clay leading into the French Open that I thought he was going to win. So by him winning, it just creates a situation that I was expecting.”

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More than anything, Federer is excited to get back on the court for match action again. He will play Mischa Zverev, who he has beaten in all five of their previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, on Wednesday.

“I’m fresh, I’m healthy,” Federer said. “That’s why I’m happy and confident to be here that things can turn out very well for me this week.”

No. 4 (Career High) Juan Martin del Potro, +2
The popular Argentine has risen back to his career-high of No. 4 in the ATP Rankings, which he first attained on 11 January 2010, after a run to his second Roland Garros semi-final (also 2009). Del Potro beat Top 10 stars John Isner and Marin Cilic in Paris, prior to losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. He returned to the Top 10 on 15 January 2018 and was previously at No. 4 on 10 February 2014.

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No. 27 (Career High) Marco Cecchinato, +45
The Italian, who was at No. 107 on 5 March this year, continues his dramatic rise to a career-high No. 27, after a 45-position rise with his first appearance in a Grand Slam championship semi-final in Paris, losing to Dominic Thiem. The 25-year-old beat David Goffin and 2016 champion Novak Djokovic. He captured his first ATP World Tour title as a lucky loser at the Gazprom Hungarian Open (d. Millman) on 29 April, which resulted in a 33-place rise from No. 92 to No. 59.

No. 50 (Career High) Maximilian Marterer, +20
The 22-year-old German, competing in just his third major championship, advanced to the fourth round (l. to Nadal) on his Roland Garros debut by beating Ryan Harrison, Denis Shapovalov and Jurgen Zopp. One month on from reaching the BMW Open by FWU Open semi-finals (l. to Kohlschreiber), Marterer moved up 20 places to a career-high No. 50.

No. 72 Jeremy Chardy, +14
The Frenchman, who was at a career-high No. 25 on 28 January 2013, captured the sixth ATP Challenger Tour title of his career at the Surbiton Trophy (d. De Minaur), having lost in the Roland Garros second round (l. to Herbert) a week earlier. He jumped 14 places to World No. 72.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 54 Mischa Zverev, +10
No. 55 Gilles Simon, +10
No. 77 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, +10
No. 80 (Career High) Matteo Berrettini, +16
No. 87 Nikoloz Basilashvili, +10
No. 96 (Career High) Alex de Minaur, +9

Finish to A.

Rafael Nadal pounded 126 forehand groundstroke winners from around the baseline over the past two weeks in Paris to win an unprecedented 11th Roland Garros title on Sunday. No piece of real estate mattered more to him than Position A.

Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday’s final, hitting 14 forehand winners from the back of the court, with nine (64 per cent) of them powering through his favourite forehand finishing location of A.

Tennis is a very much a C to C sport when rallying. Typically, two right-handed players trade blows through the Ad court at each other’s backhands, but don’t rally wide to D because there is too much risk with the singles sideline in play.

For Nadal, C is the perfect place to set up the point. Position A is where he drops the hammer.

A study of Nadal’s forehand winners from seven matches at Roland Garros this year reveals the key patterns of play that formed the foundation of the Spaniard’s run to the title – and undoubtedly heavily contributed to his preceding 10 titles in Paris.

Nadal’s forehand has never been studied in such detail, with the following four elements revealing the inner workings of the biggest baseline weapon in the modern game.

1. Winners Go To A
Being left-handed, we naturally fixate on Nadal dominating through the Ad court to C and D against right-handed opponent’s backhands. That’s just where he sets the point up. Those are the body blows.

Nadal played five right-handed and two left-handed opponents at Roland Garros the past two weeks, and his game plan remained basically the same against them all: run around his own backhand in the Deuce court and finish out wide to A.

Location of Nadal’s Forehand Winners
Position A = 66% (83)

Position B = 2% (2)

Position C = 1% (1)

Position D = 32% (40)

2. Forehand Winners Are Struck From B & D
Nadal loves to run around his backhand and hit forehand winners standing in B, as well as go big from out wide in the Ad court from D.

Nadal Forehand Winners – Position Hit From
Position A = 20% (25)

Position B = 33% (41)

Position C = 14% (18)

Position D = 33% (42)

When Nadal was standing in B hitting a forehand winner, 68 per cent (27/40) were run-around forehand winners hit inside-out to Position A. This was a huge part of his run to his 11th Paris title. Just 32 per cent (13/40) were hit inside-in from B down the line to D. The modern forehand is all about inside-out.

When Nadal was standing in D, he hit a remarkable 80 per cent (33/41) of his forehand winners right down the line to Position A. Opponents typically want to cover the crosscourt, sitting on Nadal’s heavy, lefty forehand to their backhand. That’s exactly the finishing trap that the Spaniard looks to exploit.

3. Forehand Winners Happen More When Serving
We have never really made the connection between hitting forehands and hitting serves, but the two lived in perfect harmony for Nadal at Roland Garros. Right at two out of three of his forehand winners came when he was serving.

Forehand Winners
When Serving = 65% (82)

When Receiving = 35% (44)

4. The Run-Around Forehand Dominates
With Nadal being left-handed, the natural place for him to make contact with forehands is standing in the Ad court. Not so for forehand winners. Nadal’s run-around forehands standing in the Deuce court produced more winners at Roland Garros than his forehands from the Ad court.

Winners: Location Contact Hit From
Deuce Court = 52% (66) – Run Around forehands.

Ad Court = 48% (60) – Normal forehands.

Overall, Nadal hit 126 groundstroke forehand winners and committed 166 errors. That means if the last shot of the rally was a forehand groundstroke, 43 per cent of the of the time it was a winner, and 57 per cent of the time it was an error.

On the surface that does not seem impressive, but take into account that errors made up 66 per cent of total points at Roland Garros this year, and those 43 per cent of errors are viewed in an upgraded light.

Forehands to A took another major title in Paris on Sunday.