METZ/WASHINGTON, September 26, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)
Hubert Hurkacz proved he can win an ATP Tour title outside Florida in the United States. On Sunday afternoon, the top seed from Poland completed an unblemished week in which he did not drop any sets and won the ATP 250 Moselle Open in Metz, France.
The World No. 13 Hurkacz beat Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in an hour and 20 minutes on the indoor hard-court surface of Les Arenes de Metz, lifted by an enthusiastic crowd that cheered his successes all weekend. He’s the first Polish player to win the Moselle Open title.
Another title 👏
Top seed @HubertHurkacz wins his first indoor title with a 7-6 6-3 win over Carreno Busta at the #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/opMS7uiTnH
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 26, 2021
The victory improved Hurkacz’s win-loss record in ATP Tour finals to 4-0. Earlier this season, he won the ATP 250 Delray Beach Open and followed it with an ATP Masters 1000 triumph at the Miami Open. His other title came in 2019 at the Winston-Salem Open.
Hurkacz was the steadier player during Sunday’s final. He benefited from consistently scoring points with his solid baseline returns. Hurkacz finished with nine aces, won 79 percent (27 of 34) of his first-serve points, and converted four of his six break-point opportunities against Carreño Busta. He out pointed his opponent 67-52.
Although Carreño Busta gained an early break during the opening set and consolidated it at love to take a 3-1 lead, Hurkacz soon broke back to tie the score at 4-all. He went on to prevail 7-2 in the first-set tie-breaker, aided by a couple of mini breaks along the way.
Nothing seemed to fluster Hurkacz. Although he was broken early in the second set, from 3-all he went to work and won the final three games of the match. Twice, he broke the Olympic bronze medalist Carreño Busta and by the end of the match the Metz title was his to savor. By winning, he became just the seventh non-French player to win the Moselle Open in the tournament’s 18-year history.
4 out of 4 in finals for Hubi 👊#MoselleOpen | @HubertHurkacz pic.twitter.com/0IyZW173N2
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 26, 2021
Hurkacz’s title victory avenged an earlier season loss to the Spaniard at the Western & Southern Open in the North American hard-court run up to the US Open. Hurkacz also kept Carreño Busta from winning a third tour-level title this season after he won at Marbella, Spain and Hamburg, Germany earlier this year, both on clay.
Pablo is an amazing player, so playing against him in the final here is something special,” Hurkacz admitted during an on-court interview following his victory. “I needed to raise my level to play my best to be able to compete with him and today I came out on top and I am super, super happy about this.”
Later, during the trophy ceremony, Hurkacz saluted the lively band sitting up in the upper bowl of the arena, which had been cheering for him throughout both his semifinal and title victories. “The atmosphere here is very special here with all of you guys,” he said. “You guys make it an amazing atmosphere. So, that is so nice that you guys are here.”
Hurkacz wins Moselle Open doubles title, too
After lifting the singles trophy, Hubert Hurkacz returned and won the doubles title, too. He teamed with fellow Polish Jan Zielinski to beat Hugo Nys of Monaco and Arthur Rinderknech of France, 7-5, 6-3, in just 69 minutes.
It was Hurkacz’s first doubles title this year and improved his win-loss record in doubles to 17-14 this season. Like he did in singles, Hurkacz did not lose any sets as he and Zielinski swept their way to four straight victories in Metz.
The perfect day for @HubertHurkacz 🏆🏆
He & @zielaczekk take the Metz doubles title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nys & Rinderknech. #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/rwGHk3bCFc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 26, 2021
