Tag Archives: Hubert Hurkacz

Carlos Alcaraz Nominated for ATP’s Sportsmanship Award

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Carlos Alcaraz is a good sport…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player has been nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time in his career as part of the 2023 ATP Awards.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz will face off against fellow first-time nominees in the category: Jannik Sinner, Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz.

Alcaraz was the ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2020. He was also the ATP Player of the Year and ATP Most Improved Player of 2022.

Alcarez’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, meanwhile, has been nominated for Coach of the Year.

The 43-year-old Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player and current tennis coach is nominated for helping coach Alcaraz to a 65-12 record. Alcaraz defeated four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final, 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 to win the gentlemen’s singles tennis title at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first Wimbledon title.

ATP Awards winners, including Fans’ Favorite, will be revealed during Awards week, starting December 11.

Here’s the complete list of 2023 ATP Awards nominees:

Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome serious injury in re-establishing himself as one of the top players on the ATP Tour.

Dominik Koepfer
Gael Monfils
Jan-Lennard Struff
Alexander Zverev

Most Improved Player of the Year: The player who reached a significantly higher ATP Ranking by year’s end and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the year.

Matteo Arnaldi
Christopher Eubanks
Ben Shelton
Jannik Sinner

Newcomer of the Year: The #NextGenATP player who broke into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in 2023 and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season.

Flavio Cobolli
Arthur Fils
Alex Michelsen
Dominic Stricker
Luca Van Assche

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: The player who, throughout the year, conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity, who competed with his fellow players with the utmost spirit of fairness and who promoted the game through his off-court activities.

Carlos Alcaraz
Grigor Dimitrov
Hubert Hurkacz
Jannik Sinner

VOTED BY COACHES

Coach of the Year: Nominated and voted on by fellow ATP coach members, this award goes to the ATP coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year.

Craig Boynton (Hubert Hurkacz)
Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi (Jannik Sinner)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Carlos Alcaraz)
Goran Ivanisevic (Novak Djokovic)
Bryan Shelton (Ben Shelton)

Carlos Alcaraz Outlasts Hubert Hurkacz to Reach Western & Southern Open Men’s Final

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It’s a Wimbledon rematch for Carlos Alcaraz. 

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player and World No. 1 erased a match point in the second set and rallied past unseeded Hubert Hurkacz 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the semifinals on Saturday to reach the Western & Southern Open final.

Carlos AlcarazIn Sunday’s final, Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic, defeated Alexander Zverev, the 2021 tournament champ, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to earn a shot at his third title in the US Open tuneup.

Alcaraz won six straight points in the second-set tiebreaker to reach his eighth final of the season. He beat Djokovic last month at Wimbledon to win his second major title and deny Djokovic his 24th.

Alcaraz is the youngest Cincinnati finalist since 19-year-old Pete Sampras in 1991. He’s trying to become the youngest champion since Boris Becker won at 17 in 1985.

Despite going to a third set in each of his four matches this week, Alcaraz says he’ll be ready for the final.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m playing third sets or long matches, I’m recovering really well,” Alcaraz said. “I feel like I’m going to play the first match of the tournament. I feel great.”

Last week in Toronto, Alcaraz needed two tiebreakers to beat Hurkacz after losing the first set.

“Playing against Hubert is always tough,” Alcaraz said. “We played until the final ball. I was really happy to get that win today. He’s one of the best servers in the tour.”

Djokovic, 36, is the oldest Cincinnati finalist in the professional era, dating to 1968, surpassing 35-year old Ken Rosewall in 1970.

Earlier in the week, it was announced that Alcaraz and Djokovic will participate in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals next month.

Alcaraz and Djokovic were included in the teams announced Monday by Spain and Serbia, respectively, for the competition that will be played September 12-17 in Valencia, Spain.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Max Purcell to Advance to Cincinnati Open Semifinals

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Carlos Alcaraz has advanced to the semifinals…

The 20-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and tournament’s top seed staved off an upset bid by Australian qualifier Max Purcell, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn a rematch with Hubert Hurkacz in the Cincinnati Open semifinals.

Carlos Alcaraz“I didn’t know him so much before the match,” Alcaraz said of Purcell. “He impressed me a lot. It was really tough for me. I’m really happy to get through.”

It was the third time this week that the Wimbledon champion needed three sets to win.

The top-ranked Alcaraz needed two tiebreaks to beat Hurkacz last week in Toronto.

“When we played in Toronto, we had a great match,” Alcaraz said. “Here in Cincinnati, the court’s a little faster than Toronto. So it probably suits better to his game. We need to be at the best level to beat him.”

In the nightcap on center court, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic beat ninth-seeded American Taylor Fritz 6-0, 6-4. Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev, the 2021 tournament champ, in the semifinals on Saturday.

Juan Pablo Varillas Upsets Hubert Hurkacz to Reach Fourth Round at French Open

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Juan Pablo Varillas continues his fairy tale run at the French Open…

The 27-year-old Peruvian professional tennis player has earned the highest-ranked win of his career at Roland Garros after he upset 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2 in the third round.

Juan Pablo VarillasVarillas, who had not won a Grand Slam main draw match heading into Paris, has survived three consecutive five-set thrillers to set a fourth-round clash against 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

Incredibly, all five of Varillas’ career Grand Slam appearances have gone the distance.

It’s been a dramatic reversal of fortune for Varillas at Roland Garros, where last year he squandered a two-sets-to-love lead against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the opening round. This year, in his first two matches, Varillas battled back from two-sets-to-love down against Shang Juncheng and Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Lima native will look to add to his run by collecting his first Top 5 win against the third seed Djokovic. Varillas, who is at a career-high No. 60 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, is the first Peruvian to reach the Roland Garros fourth round since Jaime Yzaga in 1994.

Varillas struck his groundstrokes with power and depth throughout the three-hour, 51-minute battle against Hurkacz. Varillas held the advantage in extended rallies and absorbed the Pole’s hefty delivery to advance.

A five-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, Varillas has broken serve 19 times across three matches, including four breaks against the World No. 14 Hurkacz.

Earlier this year, Varillas pushed Alexander Zverev to five sets in the first round of the Australian Open, where the Peruvian was making his Melbourne debut as a lucky loser.

Juan Pablo Varillas Pulls Off Miraculous Comeback to Reach French Open Third Round

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Juan Pablo Varillas is Roland (Garros) along…

The 27-year-old Peruvian professional tennis player pulled off a miraculous comeback at the French Open to beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, the No 19 seed, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.

With the victory, Varillas has moved on to the third round at Roland Garros, his best performance ever at a Grand Slam tournament.

Varillas, ranked No 94, will next face Hubert Hurkacz, the No 13 seed.

In the first round, Varillas defeated Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang (4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1).

He previously lost in the first round at this year’s Australian Open in his maiden appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1 in ATP History

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Carlos Alcaraz has another a place in tennis history once again…

The 19-year-old Spanish professional tennis player is the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP computerized rankings.

Carlos AlcarazHe also joins fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the first players from the same country to claim the top two spots at the close of a season since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.

The final men’s tennis rankings for 2022 were published Monday, and Alcaraz’s rise from No. 32 at the end of 2021 is the largest single-season jump to No. 1.

Alcaraz, who turned 19 in May, has remained atop the rankings since he won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September by beating Casper Ruud in the final.

That made Alcaraz the first male teen at No. 1 since the ATP computerized rankings began in 1973.

He’s the first man in 20 years other than Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray — since Andy Roddick in 2003 — to finish at No. 1.

Alcaraz ended his season early after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters a month ago.

The 36-year-old Nadal, meanwhile, is the oldest man to finish a year ranked first or second. He also extended his own record by placing in the top 10 at the end of a year for the 18th consecutive season. The recently retired Federer is the only other man with that many top-10 finishes over the course of a career.

Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to raise his men’s-record Grand Slam total to 22 trophies, one ahead of Djokovic and two ahead of Federer.

Ruud finishes at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 5 Djokovic, No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 Andrey Rublev, No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic couldn’t play at the Australian Open or US Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and didn’t earn any rankings boost for his title at Wimbledon because the WTA and ATP stripped that tournament of any points over the All England Club‘s ban on players from Russia and Belarus.

Pablo Carreno Busta Defeats Hubert Hurkacz at National Bank Open to Claim First ATP Masters 1000 Title

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Pablo Carreno Busta has claimed his first-ever ATP Masters 1000 title…

The 31-year-old Spanish tennis player won the National Bank Open on Sunday, beating eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Pablo Carreno BustaWith the win, Carreno Busta becomes the first unseeded winner in the event since Argentina’s Guillermo Canas in 2002.

Carreno Busta won his seventh ATP Tour title with his first Masters 1000 victory.

The 23rd-ranked Carreno Busta improved to 7-5 in final appearances. Hurkacz fell to 5-1.

Unseeded Reilly Opelka reached the final last year in Toronto, then lost to Daniil Medvedev.

Carlos Alcaraz Earns Landmark Win Over Idol Rafael Nadal at Madrid Open

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Carlos Alcaraz has taken out his idol…

In a clash of generations, the 19-year-old Spanish teenage tennis sensation overcame an injury to defeat his idol Rafael Nadal 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Friday.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz recovered from a bad ankle twist early in the second set to earn his first victory against the 21-time Grand Slam champion, marking what could be the beginning of a changing of the guard in Spanish tennis.

Alcaraz considered by many in Spain as Nadal’s successor will play his first Madrid semifinal against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who eased past Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s obvious there is [a change in guard],” Nadal said. “He turned 19 yesterday, I’m almost 36 years old. If [the change] begins today or not, we will find out in the next months. I’m happy for him. He was better than me in several aspects of the game.”

It was Nadal’s first loss to a Spanish competitor in six years, since falling to Fernando Verdasco at the 2016 Australian Open. He had a 138-21 record against his countrymen entering the match against Alcaraz.

“It means a lot to me to beat Rafa, to beat the best player in the history on clay,” Alcaraz said. “This is the result of all the hard work I’ve done.”

Still far from his best form after a six-week injury layoff, Nadal predicted a hard time keeping up with the energy of Alcaraz. And he was right early on, as the youngster overpowered him to easily win the first set with three breaks.

But Alcaraz lost momentum after needing medical attention for the ankle, losing 20 of the next 22 points as Nadal cruised through the second set.

The match also was interrupted in the second set after a fan became ill in the stands of the Caja Mágica center court.

Both players got off to a great start this season as they seek their fourth title of the year, which would be the most on tour.

Nadal’s run was hampered by a rib stress fracture suffered in his semifinal win against Alcaraz in Indian Wells. His other win against the ninth-ranked Alcaraz came in Madrid last year, when the youngster was just starting to attract everyone’s attention.

Nadal saved four match points to get past David Goffin in a third-round match that lasted more than three hours on Thursday.

He said it was a positive balance for him after winning two matches following his injury layoff.

“It’s an easy loss to digest in that regard, because we knew what we could expect here,” Nadal said. “My only dream is (to) be in Paris (for the French Open) healthy enough and physically good enough to compete at the highest level possible.”

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Defending Champion Hubert Hurkacz to Reach Miami Open Final

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Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from history…

The 18-year-old Spanish tennis player ended the 10-match tournament winning streak of defending champion Hubert Hurkacz to advance to the final at the Miami Open on Friday evening to reach his first ATP Masters 1000.

Carlos AlcarazWith his 7-6(5), 7-6(2) victory, Alcaraz has reached the biggest final of his young career, going one better than his semifinal run at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

“I have a lot of emotions right now. It’s something that you dream of when you are a child,” said Alcaraz, who is one win away from becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s 37-year history. “It’s really good to be in the final here in Miami. I love playing here. The crowd is amazing. I’m going to approach the final like a first round, trying to mask the nerves. I’m going to enjoy it, it’s going to be a great final.”

Alcaraz trailed 3/5 in the opening-set tiebreak, but repeated his heroics from Thursday’s quarterfinal win against Miomir Kecmanovic by winning four straight points to close it out.

After erasing two break points at 5-all in the second set — taking his tournament total to 15 of 17 break points saved — Alcaraz controlled the second tie-break with help from some untimely Hurkacz errors. A drop shot at 5/2 set up match point, and a dipping pass attempt forced a volley into the net to close out the match.

“I couldn’t return his serves, but I knew that the match was going to be long sets like it was, 7-6, 7-6,” said Alcaraz, who dropped deep with his return positioning, in contrast to his previous matches. “At the beginning, I saw that I couldn’t return. I thought we were going to play a lot of tiebreaks… A little bit different [than my previous matches] with his serve, but it’s a great win for me.”

Hurkacz tallied one more winner than Alcaraz on the night, 23 to 22, but gave up that advantage by committing 37 unforced errors in the match. Early in the second set, the frustrated Pole shouted to his coach: “I can’t do my backhand.”

But this was far from a standard matchup of baseline blasts as both men attacked the net with regularity, a total of 47 times between them, with both posting a 70 per cent win rate. Alcaraz also hit 16 drop shots in the match, winning 11 of those points (69 per cent).

In a match that did not see a break of serve, both men saved three break points, with each coming up clutch to fight off a pair when serving at 5-all. After failing to convert late in the first, Alcaraz provided a moment of good sportsmanship by offering to replay a point as he served at 5-6, 30/0 after an incorrect “not up” call. Hurkacz applauded the gesture but was not able to get a look in the service game.

“Definitely he’s playing insane for his age,” Hurkacz said following the match. “It’s really incredible how he plays, how he competes… He has an amazing career in front of him. It’s crazy how good he plays.”

By reaching the final, Alcaraz moves up to third place in the ATP Race to Turin, with an opportunity to move up to second with the title. The World No. 16 improves to 6-6 against the Top 10, having won the opening set in all six of his victories and lost the opener in all six defeats

He’ll face Casper Ruud in the Sunday’s final following his 6-4, 6-1 win over Francisco Cerundolo.

Alcaraz is hoping to become the third-youngest man to win a title at this level, behind only Michael Chang (1990, Toronto) and Rafael Nadal (2005, Monte Carlo). He’s also the second-youngest finalist in Miami history, behind only Nadal, who lost the 2005 final to Roger Federer.

Alcaraz is projected to move up to a career-high of No. 12 in the ATP Rankings with his final run, and will reach No. 11 with the title.

Roberto Bautista Agut Helps Lead Spain Into ATP Cup Final

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Roberto Bautista Agut has helped send his country to the ATP Cup final…

The 33-year-old Spanish professional tennis player clinched Spain‘s spot in the ATP Cup final with a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Poland‘s Hubert Hurkacz on Friday.

Roberto Bautista Agut

In the opening singles match, Pablo Carreno Busta gave Spain the advantage with a 6-2, 6-1 win against late replacement Jan Zielinski. Kamil Majchrzak went 3-0 for Poland in the group stages but was forced into isolation due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Russia and Canada will meet Saturday to play for the other spot in Sunday’s final.

Two years ago, Bautista Agut played a leading role during Spain’s run to the final, which Serbia won. Bautista Agut has won all four of his matches at No. 1 singles in this tournament to lead the way for the two-time finalists.

“It’s a match I’ll always remember. Both of us could have got the win today,” Carreno Busta said. “This is our game, this is tennis, and today I was the one who got the win.”

Majchrzak, who is experiencing minor symptoms from his illness, announced his positive COVID-19 test moments before he was due to step on court to face Carreno Busta.

Hurkacz saved five match points before finally succumbing to Bautista Agut.

“Sometimes you get the win on the first [match] point. He played two or three lines in a row, but sometimes you stay focused like today, you keep working, and finally you lose the tiebreak,” Bautista Agut said. “But today I kept working and I got the win.”