Alcaraz, Ranked at the Top, Progresses to Toronto Quarterfinals with a Comeback Victory Over Hurkacz
In anticipation of his U.S. Open title defense, the 20-year-old Wimbledon champion extended his winning streak to 14 matches on Thursday evening.
Toronto: Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain rallied to beat 15th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) to advance to the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open.
Preparing for his U.S. Open title defense, the 20-year-old Wimbledon champion ran his match winning streak to 14 on Thursday night, dating to his Queen’s title run. He leads the tour with six victories and 49 match victories against just four losses.
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“In the tough moments you have to believe in yourself, try to go for it,” Alcaraz said.
“It doesn’t matter if you win or not. You have to believe you are going to play your best in that moment, try to play aggressive. I think in the two tiebreaks I did pretty well. That’s why I got the win.” Alcaraz led 5-2 in the third set and twice served for the match before closing out Hurkacz in the tiebreaker.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what happened,” Alcaraz said.
“I started feeling bad at that moment. I couldn’t feel the right way in my shots. I didn’t know what happened. … The big players have that feeling to find a way to stay alive and try to end the match playing well.” Alcaraz will face 12th-seeded Tommy Paul, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Marcos Giron in an all-American match.
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia advanced in the afternoon, beating 16th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-4, 6-4.
Medvedev, the 2021 winner in Toronto who has five tour victories this year, will face Alex de Minaur of Australia. De Minaur topped eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-1.
Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset third-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4). Fokina set up a match with American Mackenzie McDonald, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 32-year-old Canadian Milos Raonic.
Andy Murray, the 36-year-old Scot who won the event in 2009, 2010 and 2015, faced seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy in a late match. The winner will play fellow 36-year-old Gael Monfils of France, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic.
Rain suspended play for just over an hour early in the afternoon.
