SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, October 14, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
Hubert Hurkacz was asked during his on-court interview following his masterclass serving performance that lifted him past Sebastian Korda and into the finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters if he realized how hard it must be for his opponents to play him with the way he’s been serving.
Without missing a beat, the 16th-seeded Polish star smiled at the interviewer and replied: “Hopefully. That’s the plan. That’s why we put in the work, to be difficult to play against.”
On Saturday afternoon, Hurkacz needed just 77 minutes to master the 26th-seeded Korda of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, in the first semifinal at Qi Zhong Tennis Center to advance to Sunday’s championship final against No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia. The World No. 7 from Moscow advanced with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
Hubi Coming Up CLUTCH! 💪@HubertHurkacz defeats Korda 6-3 6-4 to advance into the #RolexShanghaiMasters final
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 14, 2023
It’s the third straight season the World No. 17 Hurkacz has reached a Masters 1000 final after winning the Miami Open in 2021 and being a finalist at Montreal in 2022.
Hurkacz fired 14 aces and won 85 percent of his first serve points, dropping just seven points along the way, and did not face any break points from No. 26 Korda. He converted two of four break-point chances – one in each set – and outpointed his American opponent 67-53 as he continues his pursuit of a seventh career ATP Tour singles title.
“I’m working on being difficult to play against,” said Hurkacz, who has amassed 77 aces – most in the Shanghai Masters draw. “It’s the same with every opponent. They try to come out with their best foot forward that day and they’re trying to [implement] their tactics or plan against you. You’ve just got to stay mentally strong and really battle.”
XIE XIE! 🤗@HubertHurkacz #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/frNme1VgnO
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 14, 2023
Later, during his post-match news conference, Hurkacz said he was “really happy” with his performance today against Korda.
“I was serving well, playing some good groundstrokes and definitely putting pressure on Sebi from the ground,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rublev capped a superb opening set of a highly physical semifinal against his friend and foe Dimitrov that stretched across 76 minutes and was ultimately decided by a tie-break 9-7 in favor of the Russian. Both men had set points. However, Rublev was unable to serve it out at 6-5 —troubled by Dimitrov’s slice returns — but he somehow got it done. Then, from 0-2 down in the second set, Rublev took control while the 19th-ranked Dimitrov began showing signs of fatigue. He struck 13 winners in the set and broke Dimitrov twice. Rublev finished with 25 winners and made just 10 unforced errors. He outpointed Dimitrov 80-67.
W😲W
After 76 minutes, @AndreyRublev97 snatches the opening set against Dimitrov, 7-6(7).#RolexShanghaiMasters | @SH_RolexMasters pic.twitter.com/jMKkuW5Ytl
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 14, 2023
“It’s not easy when you win matches against friends, because you feel both sides,” Rublev said in his on-court interview after advancing to his fourth Masters 1000 final. “You feel sad, but at the same time you want to win. It’s a mix of feelings.”
Yet to drop a set! 😳@AndreyRublev97 cruising into the #RolexShanghaiMasters final
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 14, 2023
Rublev has not dropped a set in the 10 he has played this week in Shanghai. He has strung together wins against Quentin Halys, Adrian Mannarino, Tommy Paul, Ugo Humbert and Dimitrov. Rublev is now 18-6 in Masters 1000 competition this season, which includes his title run in Monte-Carlo last April.
On Sunday, Rublev and Hurkacz will be meeting for the fifth time. Each has won twice and Rublev enters having beaten Hurkacz in their two most recent encounters, both in 2022, at Dubai and Indian Wells.
Rublev suggested he’s only thinking of rest and recovery for Sunday’s final “because Hubi is so tough to play.
“He’s one of the players that you don’t want to face because he can beat everyone. With his style of the game, the way he serves, the way he hits the ball. We’ll see, I just want to take my time to recover and be as [ready] as possible for tomorrow.”
It all comes down to this 🏆#RolexShanghaiMasters | @SH_RolexMasters pic.twitter.com/HOWlx3jbrP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 14, 2023
Bopanna and Ebden qualify for year-end finals with Shanghai win
Fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia dominated their French opponents, Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, 7-6 (0), 4-6, 10-2, in Saturday afternoon’s doubles semifinal to advance to Sunday’s title match against seventh seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
Place in the doubles final sealed with an ace! 😎
Bopanna/Ebden win 7-6 4-6 10-2 vs Doumbia/Reboul to reach their third Masters 1000 final in 2023
They will face Granollers/Zeballos for the #RolexShanghaiMasters doubles title tomorrow 🏆 pic.twitter.com/p3lDdLJ4aZ
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 14, 2023
The 100-minute semifinal victory also enabled Bopanna and Ebden, who earlier this season won titles at Indian Wells and Doha, to be the third team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals next month in Turin, Italy. They will be making their debut as a team in the year-end championships. Other teams already qualifying include: Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the United States, and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Great Britain.
By the numbers
Both Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev are vying for their second ATP Masters 1000 title. Hurkacz won his first one at the Miami Open in 2021, while Rublev won his first at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters earlier this season.
“Quotable …”
“It’s really important to be able to set up the point with the serve, and then, obviously, if I’m serving well, that puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. They know they’ve got to serve well, and just play well off the ground.”
— Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, during his post-match news conference, describing the importance of his serve as a weapon against his opponents.
