The Polish national team started the new year very well and advanced to the quarter-finals of the United Cup. In it, the White and Reds faced Great Britain on Thursday morning. In the first meeting, Hubert Hurkacz (16th ATP) played with Billy Harris (125th ATP) and was a clear favorite because his rival had never won any ATP tournament in his career and had never advanced past the first round in Grand Slam tournaments. In the world ranking, the highest in his career was 101st. On Wednesday, Harris was beaten and lost to Australian Alex De Minaur (9th ATP) 2-6, 1-6.
Great emotions in Hubert Hurkacz's match
The match was very even from the beginning of the match. – The perfect British gem. There is no difference in the ranking between them yet players – said Dawid Olejniczak, Polsat Sport commentator, after four games (2:2). This difference was not visible until the end of the set and, as was often the case in the Pole's matches last year, the tie-break decided the winner (he played 51 of them – won 29 and lost 22). Earlier, Hurkacz wasted his chances to break his rival. At 6:5 he even had two set points, but he was too passive with them.
The tie-break started great for the Pole. First, Harris made a mistake at the net, throwing a simple hit a few meters out. After a while, the Pole won one of the most beautiful moves of the match, with an effective backhand down the line, and led 4:1. Paradoxically, earlier he made a lot of unforced errors on his backhand. Hurkacz did not waste such an advantage. When the score was 6-3, the Pole used the first ball of the set after his opponent missed a backhand shot into the court. Hurkacz could clench his fist tightly and breathe a small sigh of relief. He won the set, which lasted as long as 57 minutes.
At the beginning of the second set, the Pole was in huge trouble. Already in his first service game he lost 0:40. However, he was able to get out of trouble thanks to great serves. Mainly thanks to them, he won five points in a row and a game. There were great emotions again at the end. When the score was 5:5, the Briton served and the score was 30:30. Then the Pole played offensively and finished the action with a smash at the net, clenched his fist tightly and shouted with joy. After a while, the referee warned the opponent that he had exceeded the time limit for serving. In the next action, during the break point, Harris made an unforced error and hit the net with a backhand shot. As a result, it was broken. After a while, the Pole won his serve without losing a point and was happy with the victory.
– Such a win will give me more self-confidence for the rest of the season – admitted Hurkacz in the post-match interview.
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