De Minaur outlasts Hurkacz in Atlanta, sets up second-round meeting with Isner

The BB&T Atlanta Open has never been a stranger to third-set tiebreakers; not with John Isner as the staple of this tournament since its inception in 2010. Atlanta’s ninth annual event began with another–this one between rising stars Alex de Minaur and Hubert Hurkacz.

Hurkacz got off to a hot start, but it was the more heralded and more accomplished de Minaur who battled back for a 1-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(5) victory during first-round action on Monday afternoon. The 19-year-old dropped serve four times and won three fewer total points than his opponent (97 to Hurkacz’s 100), but he won the ones that mattered most to prevail after two hours and 21 minutes.

“I just tried to stay positive throughout the whole match; tried to dig deep,” de Minaur explained. “I knew that if I could just sort of get my teeth into it, I was going to start playing some better tennis and I played some big points on the big occasions. That got me that second set and then I was able to get that momentum going.”

De Minaur earned only four points in four return games against Hurkacz’s huge serve during a lightning-quick opening set. The Australian’s woes on his own serve also continued early in the second, as he double-faulted on break point to fall behind 2-1. Hurkacz, however, could not close the deal. The 21-year-old Pole got broken for the first time all day in the ensuing game, and 10 holds later a tiebreaker was necessary.

After sweeping through the ‘breaker 7-0, de Minaur maintained momentum by breaking serve for 5-4 in the third. Out of nowhere, though, Hurkacz broke back to stay alive and eventually forced a decisive ‘breaker.

Wild point early in the third set:

De Minaur breaks in the third:

De Minaur led 4-1 in the decider before giving back both mini-breaks and another at 5-4. Starting at 5-5, the final two points could have gone either way. De Minaur missed a shot wide after a brief rally but challenged Hurkacz’s previous shot and that shot was called out. On his match point at 6-5, de Minaur hit a return off the baseline that forced Hurkacz into an error. The world No. 125 challenged, but de Minaur’s return was confirmed to have just barely clipped the line.

“You always want to be positive,” the Aussie commented. “It’s not the easiest thing to do out there, but it’s something I’m working on. I couldn’t be prouder of my effort today. Obviously I was frustrated at times, but I managed to turn it around.”

Next up for the world No. 68 is John Isner, who is 27-4 lifetime in Atlanta–19-1 in his last 20 matches–with four titles and three runner-up finishes in eight career appearances.

“It’s going to be fun,” de Minaur assured. “Obviously he plays really well here. I just need to go out there and compete; leave it all out there like I always do.”

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