Hubert Hurkacz put in a solid performance to upend No. 4 seed Casper Ruud for a spot in Sunday’s Montreal final.
(8) Hubert Hurkacz def (4) Casper Ruud 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
World No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz came into Montreal off a pair of disappointing losses. He lost in five grueling sets to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round at Wimbledon (where he was defending semifinal points) and lost his first match in Washington last week to Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori. Hurkacz has righted the ship in a big way in Canada.
Casper Ruud has been one of the in-form players of the year. The Norwegian fought his way to the French Open final, then stayed on European clay post-Wimbledon and took the title in Gstaad. He has fewer accomplishments on hard courts, but a run to the finals in Miami and then the semis this week suggests a solid hard court career for Ruud.
Ruud got off to a better start than Hurkacz. He snagged the first set after going down 0-3, then broke Hurkacz’s serve in the first game of the second. That marked the end of Ruud’s dominance in the match, however. Hurkacz played more aggressively on both the serve and return from that moment on. He earned the break back, then served and volleyed frequently (and successfully). It proved to be a clever strategy for the Pole.
After the match, Ruud said, “He went for it [serve and volley] and I have to give credit for him doing that…. When you’re standing that far back as I am, I am vulnerable to people who are serve and volleying. It can be tough to pass when you’re that far behind.”
Hurkacz will take on the winner of Pablo Carreno Busta and Daniel Evans, Saturday evening’s semifinal match.
nice one, Hubi