Hubert Hurkacz raised his ranking in the tennis fraternity further by beating a 20-time grand slam champion to make it into the final of Wimbledon 2021
“I mean, probably not,” hat was Hubert Hurkacz’s reply when asked whether he fancied defeating his idol by sweeping the floor in a big match. Though there is one more grand slam to come this year, Hubert Hurkacz might have scripted the most stunning upset of 2021. Hurkacz just beat Roger Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion, in straight sets.
Hubert Hurkacz Fortitude Filled Journey To The Final Of Wimbledon 2021
As the 14th seed ranking who had not reached beyond the second round of any grand slam event, Hubert Hurkacz defeated a couple of favourites. If overcoming Daniil Medvedev was not enough in the fourth round, he beat Roger Federer comprehensively. As a result, the 24-year old became the first Pole to reach the grand slam semi-finals since Jerzy Janowicz in Wimbledon 2013.
Hubert Hurkacz Career And Family
Hubert Hurkacz hailed from an athletic background as his mother was a junior tennis champion in Poland. Both his uncles were tennis players, whole his grandfather was a volleyball athlete at the top level. Hurkacz revealed it was his sporting family that motivated him to become an athlete.
The youngster decided to take up tennis professionally by watching Roger Federer on television. He had basketball, motor racing, and education on his radar if tennis did not work out for him. The Pole also has a younger sister named Nika, who aspires to be a professional tennis player as well. He is likely single at the moment; however, there were a few girls cheering for him during his clash with Roger Federer.
Hubert Hurkacz’s meteoric rise to his grand slam debut
Hubert Hurkacz’s professional career is believed to have started back in 2015. Through some mixed performances in the singles and doubles division, the Pole competed in the French Open in 2018. Hurkacz’s first victory in the grand slam event and any ATP main draw came against Tennys Sandgren in the opening round.
Unfortunately, the 24-year old’s campaign ended in the second round. The Pole’s second grand slam tournament beckoned at the US Open. He fared slightly better, reaching his third round. Hurkacz famously beat John-Patrick Smith, Egor Gerasimov, and Pedro Martinez Portero in straight sets.
Marin Cilic, who ended his maiden grand slam campaign, inflicted another defeat on the youngster to finish his US Open’s winning run. After that November, when he won only one game in the Next Generation ATP Finals, Hurkacz earned a nomination for the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award.
Hubert Hurkacz’s first ATP title and going up and above
Before winning his first ATP crown in Winston-Salem in mid-2019, Hubert Hurkacz suffered plenty of defeats. It started with the 2019 Maharashtra Open, the Australian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, BNP Paribas Open. It was followed by the Indian Wells, Miami Open, Madrid Open, and Eastbourne International.
Though the Pole emerged victorious at the Winston-Salem Open, Hurkacz’s Shanghai Masters campaign ended in the third round. After a few struggles, Hubert Hurkacz also conquered the doubles’ division by winning the title at the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters. Along with Felix Auger-Aliassime, he defeated US Open champion Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares in the decider.
Hurbert Hurkacz Ranking And Achievements
Though Herbert Hurkacz’s Australian Open campaign ended on a disappointing note, he won his second ATP title before that. The 24-year old beat Sebastian Korda in the 2021 Delray Beach Open. After the Australian Open, the youngster lost at the Rotterdam Open in the second round.
Hurkacz suffered defeat at the Dubai Tennis Championships, but bounced back at the Miami Open. The Miami Open saw him beat Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Audrey Rublev, and Jannik Sinner to win the title.
By doing so, he lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title. Furthermore, Hubert Hurkacz reached a career-high ranking of 16. But the Halle Open ended with the Pole losing in the first round Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian partnered him at the doubles; however, the pair was eliminated in the third round.
Hubert Hurkacz currently carries a WTA ranking of 14.
Beating Roger Federer to achieve the most memorable victory of his short career
Hurbert Hurkacz did not drop a set in the first three rounds, wiping the floor against Lorenzo Musetti, Marcos Giron, and Alexander Bublik. He faced the world number two, Daniil Medvedev, who was an overwhelming favourite to win the game. The Russian reinforced the fact by taking the opening set of the quarter-final 6-3.
But Hurkacz hit back by winning the tiebreaker comfortably. Nevertheless, the following three sets saw Medvedev winning 12 games against the Pole’s 15. The world number 18 set up his second clash with the most Wimbledon title-winner. Even though Federer beat Cameron Norrie convincingly, he was vulnerable.
Roger Federer’s troubled night; Herbert Hurkacz’s ecstasy
There could not have been a better opportunity than this for the youngster to keep raising his milestones. While all Federer’s perimeters were not far worse, the Swiss racked up a staggering 31 unforced errors. Most of his unforced mistakes racked up out of his forehand, known as his potent weapon.
In fact, Federer sacrificed the opening set with an error off his forehand. The Swiss great could have levelled the scores 3-3 in the second set tie-breaker. Instead, he messed up a straight overhead hit off his forehand that he had to strike it softly to obtain a point. The 20-time grand-slam winner could accumulate only two points after that and Hurkacz romped ahead.
The 39-year old botched another crucial forehand shot when his opponent had the match point to send Hurkacz into jubilation. Federer waved an emotional goodbye, suffering his first loss at the grand slam since the Australian Open 2020 semi-finals. It was also the first time he lost in straight sets at Wimbledon since 2002.
But enough said about Federer. It was Herbert Hurkacz’s moment and he did take a moment to applaud his idol as he walked away. The Pole did all the things right that Federer did wrong. He thoroughly deserved to be in the semi-finals. He faces Matteo Berrettini next, who he has beat in their only meeting so far but is also a strong contender to win the title. It would be a night of another milestone. But for who?
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