Carlos Alcaraz was technically only one game from losing against Hubert Hurkacz, but the Spaniard rallied to prevail in three sets.
Carlos Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz only played once before this match, and it was a very close win for the Spaniard. This match at the 2023 Canadian Open, proved equally close as the Polish number one got his first set win over Alcaraz, but it wasn't enough.
Hurkacz has been one of the worst returners this year statistically unable to break his opponents as often as you'd expect from a player of his level but he broke Alcaraz a couple of times today. He mostly won sets in tiebreak but another oddity saw him lose both today.
The match began with Alcaraz basically throwing away his serve, a big no-no when you play against Hurkacz. Despite heavy pressure from the Spaniard, Hurkacz managed to stay afloat and serve out the set 6-3.
The second one saw Alcaraz apply even more pressure on Hurkacz, and despite carving out break points, the score remained tied. It remained tied until the tiebreak, but ultimately Alcaraz prevailed by finding a higher level.
Playing some amazing tennis, Alcaraz managed to easily win the tiebreak 7-2. That was all he really needed to get back on track as he dominated Hurkacz in the third to go up 5-2. But then, the Spaniard seemingly lost the ground under his feet, losing his serve twice and allowing Hurkacz to take a 6-5 lead. Ultimately they settled it in the tiebreak as Alcaraz won it 7-3.
A really strong comeback from Alcaraz in spite of the complications in the final set of the match. The final score was 3-6 7-6(2) 7-6(3) as he moves on to the quarter-final, where he'll play either Tommy Paul or Marcos Giron.
Paul bested Alcaraz last year in Montreal so that could be an interesting matchup, especially since Alcaraz is now on a 16-match winning streak if you count the Hopman Cup and a 14-match winning streak if we exclude that exhibition.
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