Halle Open: Hubert Hurkacz downs World No.1 Daniil Medvedev to claim maiden title on grass
Jun 20, 2022
Halle [Germany], June 20 : Hubert Hurkacz produced one of the performances of the 2022 grass season so far on Sunday to win Halle Open.
The Pole dismantled World No.1 Daniil Medvedev in the championship match to claim his first title for 2022.
The fifth seed broke Medvedev three times on his way to a quickfire 6-1, 6-4 win that secured his maiden tour-level trophy on grass. The 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist was imperious behind his serve and dominant from the baseline as he eased to the first ATP 500 crown of his career in just 63 minutes on OWL Arena.
"I'm super excited, I've been waiting a little bit for my first [title] this year," said Hurkacz in his on-court interview. "I'm happy to win my first ATP 500 title and of course, on the grass, it is very special."
"I was serving pretty good today and got a little bit of momentum from the first game. I saved a couple of deuces on my service game and then I managed to break Daniil's serve so I definitely got a little bit of momentum. I'm very happy with the win in front of such a great crowd here."
He becomes the seventh player in the Open Era to have won his first five Championship matches at tour-level, a group that includes current World No. 7 Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev was playing in a grass-court final for the second consecutive week. However, just as he had against Tim Van Rijthoven in 's-Hertogenbosch a week ago, the World No. 1 struggled to find his top-level throughout the championship match. Medvedev is now 0-3 for tour-level finals in 2022 as he hunts his first title since lifting the trophy at the US Open last September.
The win moves Hurkacz into a 3-2 lead in his ATP head-to-head with Medvedev. The 25-year-old also won the pair's only previous meeting this season, in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau in March.
