Hubert Hurkacz wins thrilling ‘emotional battle’ with Andrey Rublev to take Shanghai title
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Hubert Hurkacz celebrating with the winner's trophy after defeating Andrey Rublev at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament on Oct 15.
PHOTO: AFP
SHANGHAI – Hubert Hurkacz held his nerve in a dramatic tiebreak to defeat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) in a thrilling “emotional battle” of a final to win the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, his second ATP Masters 1000 title.
Hurkacz served up 21 aces but Rublev, who had 13, responded with some powerful shots and the final could have gone either way before the Pole came out on top in an enthralling final-set tiebreak.
“It was such a battle,” Hurkacz said. “Especially emotionally. I had a match point and Andrey hit an amazing serve and then he had a match point and then I had some match points.”
Fifth seed Rublev came into the final without having dropped a set, but that quickly changed when Hurkacz broke the Russian’s serve to go 4-2 up and finished off the opening set with an ace.
Hurkacz has hit more aces than anyone on the ATP Tour this season, and began in the same form in the first set, hitting seven aces to Rublev’s two, but the Russian roared back.
Rublev broke Hurkacz’s serve early in the second set but it was in the final set where the match really came to life. With Rublev serving at 5-4 down, and the game at deuce, the Russian lost his temper.
A movement from a photographer when Rublev lost a point, and Hurkacz now with advantage, saw the umpire reprimand the Russian for lashing out angrily.
Rublev steadied himself to save match point and hold serve, and in the tiebreak, he snatched early control to take a 3-0 lead.
Two aces from the Polish player kept him in touch and at 5-6 down he served another ace to save match point.
“It was back and forth and such a tricky match. Andrey was playing some great shots. I was trying to respond,” Hurkacz said.
Both players broke serve again in quick succession to level the tiebreak at 8-8, but it was Hurkacz who had the last word and broke Rublev’s serve again to win the title.
“It was one of those matches and I kept believing and I am super happy with how I managed at the end,” Hurkacz said.
“It is such a big tournament and so much tradition. It is a huge event and I am really happy now.”
Hurkacz, who won the Miami Open in 2021, has now captured seven tour-level titles.
On the women’s tour, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez won her third WTA title with a hard-fought victory over ailing Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.
The 2021 US Open finalist triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 after 2hr 49min at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.
Leylah Fernandez hitting a return against Katerina Siniakova during their women’s single final match of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Oct 15.
Fernandez, ranked 60th in the world, has endured a lean couple of years after losing the Flushing Meadows final to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu in 2021.
“We had a very, very hard past couple of years,” the 21-year-old said as she thanked her team.
“The hard work is paying off,” said Fernandez, who won the Monterrey title in 2021 and 2022.
Fan favourite Fernandez, born in Montreal but with a Philippine background, also thanked the Hong Kong crowd for their support.
Over in Seoul, top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States won the WTA Korea Open with a straight-set win over China’s Yuan Yue.
The 29-year-old, whose mother was born in Seoul, eased through 6-2, 6-3 for the fourth title of her career and second this season after Montreal in August.
Jessica Pegula defeated Yuen Yue to win the WTA Korean Open on Oct 15.
World No. 4 Pegula also reached finals in Doha and Tokyo in 2023.
“My mom is Korean and she was adopted from here, so it’s really special to be able to win here,” she said.
“In the last few years, as my ranking has gone up, I’ve definitely felt so much more support from the fans, a lot more than I expected coming back here from five years ago. So it’s really special.”
While Yuan fell short, China did get to celebrate a home-grown champion on Sunday.
World No. 24 Zheng Qinwen won her third WTA Tour event and first on home soil after beating 18th-ranked Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the Zhengzhou Open.
“That was such a special experience to win my first 500 in China, especially in Zhengzhou,” said the 21-year-old, who will return to the top 20 in the rankings on Monday.
She is just the third Chinese woman to win a tournament at a WTA 500 level or higher, joining two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na and Zheng Saisai.
Besides the world No. 24, who also won in Palermo in July, compatriots Zhu Lin and Wang Xiyu have also won titles in 2023, marking the first time three Chinese women have won singles titles on the WTA Tour in the same year. REUTERS, AFP
