In a rare occurrence during the week before a Grand Slam, seeds mostly held to form at the Winston-Salem Open. Three of the top four reached the semifinals and now two of the top three will battle for the title.
It’s top-seeded Benoit Paire against No. 3 Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday evening.
Finals are nothing new for Paire, who is through to the eighth of his career and third of the season. The 30th-ranked Frenchman improved to 3-4 lifetime in such situations by capturing a pair of recent clay-court titles in Marrakech and Lyon. Paire has maintained his fine form with a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon, a quarterfinal performance in Washington, D.C., and Winston-Salem wins over Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ugo Humbert, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Steve Johnson.
“(In) the first set I was not feeling very well,” the 30-year-old said after surviving a second consecutive three-setter on Saturday against Johnson. “Steve was playing at a good level. So it was not easy, but after I was feeling better, I served better, so it was important to stay with myself. I was moving very well, and I’m really happy about my win today because it’s my third final of the year.
It has been a breakthrough 2019 campaign for Hurkacz, who has earned 22 of his 30 career ATP-level victories and is up to No. 41 in the world. This is Hurkacz’s first final, but he has all the makings of a mentally tough player and Paire went on his usual mental walkabouts against Carreno Busta and Johnson despite ultimately getting the job done. Winston-Salem’s top seed may not get away with that against a red-hot Hurkacz.
Pick: Hurkacz in 3
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Allez les Bleues…in 2.
Hard to decide. I didn’t expect Paire to take this tournament as seriously as he has. Of course, Hurkacz is serious about it. I’m gonna say Hurkacz in 3.
It was a good match and well done first title ATP win for Hurkacz – Congratulations!!
Wishing them both good luck at US Open.
Yeah, congrats to Hurkacz!