26-year-old Polish tennis sensation Hubert Hurkacz is the highest-ranked Polish men’s tennis player in the history of the sport. After inching into the world top ten in November 2021, Hurkacz has been battling hard to maintain his place among the elite on the ATP Tour.
As we enter the final quarter of the 2023 season, the attention turns to the hard court season. This includes the US Open, which is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season. The Grand Slam events are the biggest on the calendar in terms of people betting on tennis markets, as well as the broadcast coverage too. There is a huge choice of tennis markets to bet on in Grand Slam events which don’t just look at match and set winners, but unique angles which can be bundled into accas across the opening days of a Slam.
A solid fortnight’s work at Wimbledon 2023
Hurkacz’ last Grand Slam culminated in reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon, eventually losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic. According to the recent Paddy Power News tennis tips, which included a story on this year’s Wimbledon prize money, Hurkacz took home a solid £207,000 for his grass court efforts. This adds to his total career earnings of over $10.7 million in singles and doubles events combined.
Another ATP title enhances Hurkacz’ growing reputation
The 6ft 5” right-hander registered his best finish at the Australian Open to start the 2023 season, reaching the last 16 in Melbourne. A month later, Hurkacz built on his encouraging start to the campaign by reaching the final at the ATP Marseille. He went on to shine in the final, brushing aside Benjamin Bonzi without dropping a set to clinch the sixth singles title of his career.
Hurkacz made more history for Polish tennis at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Following a gruelling three-set win over Laslo Djere which featured three tie-breaks, Hurkacz won to register his 50th Masters victory, more than any other male Polish player.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in his season to date was his performance at Roland Garros in the 2023 French Open. Seeded 13, Hurkacz had two lengthy five-set matches in rounds one and two before being dumped out in round three by the unseeded Peruvian, Juan Pablo Varillas.
In the early stages of the hard-court season, Hurkacz failed to make too many inroads. At the National Bank Open, an event which Hurkacz finished runner-up in 2022, he would lose in round three. At the Western & Southern Open, Hurkacz went deeper to the last four, before falling one match from the final.
Although 2023 has been rather more low-key than 2021 and 2022 for Hurkacz, he’s still demonstrating his abilities as an all-court player. His strong baseline game, married with his powerful hitting and flat, hard serve, make for a tricky opponent on any surface. Although it’s always difficult for those outside the top four or five in the ATP world rankings to challenge for Grand Slams, the end of the era of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer has opened the door for the likes of Hurkacz to make names for themselves.