Hubert Hurkacz kept his cool in the face of an early Fabian Marozsan onslaught to book a semi-final berth Thursday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The 16th-seeded Pole prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to end Marozsan’s dream run at the ATP Masters 1000 event. After twice dropping his serve in the opening set as his Hungarian opponent made inroads with clean baseline hitting off both wings, Hurkacz dialled in behind his delivery and lost just nine points on serve across the second and third sets for a one-hour, 43-minute triumph.
“He came with some really great shots, and I just needed to stay positive and keep committing to the gameplan,” said Hurkacz after his win. “To be aggressive, because if I dropped anything short he was just taking advantage of it and coming with some really incredible shots. I knew I had to stay on point today.”
“What did you have to do to turn the match around?”
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) October 12, 2023
“Keep coming into the game plan, and be aggressive because if I dropped anything short, he was taking advantage of it…”@HubertHurkacz did exactly that‼️
A massive #InAttack increase in sets 2 & 3 📈 @SH_RolexMasters pic.twitter.com/gZKkLWUUHU
Hurkacz converted five of 11 break points he earned overall in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Hungary’s Marozsan, who had upset Alex de Minaur and Casper Ruud en route to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. The six-time ATP Tour champion Hurkacz finished with 39 winners, including 18 aces, to improve to 6-5 in Masters 1000 quarter-finals.
It was a Tour-leading 21st deciding-set victory of the 2023 season for Hurkacz, who is five clear of second-placed Francisco Cerundolo in that category. Now into the last four for the first time in three Shanghai appearances, he will meet 19th seed Ben Shelton or 26th seed Sebastian Korda next as he chases his second Masters 1000 crown (after Miami 2021).
Thursday’s comeback win could also prove crucial in setting up the Pole for a late charge towards Nitto ATP Finals qualification. The 26-year-old Hurkacz, who made his only appearance at the prestigious season finale in 2021, is currently 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He is 975 points behind eighth-placed Holger Rune but could close that gap to 335 points by lifting the trophy in Shanghai.
Despite defeat, Marozsan can look back on another breakthrough run in Shanghai. The 24-year-old, who upset Carlos Alcaraz in May en route to the fourth round as a qualifier in Rome, has risen 26 spots to No. 65 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his exploits in China. The Hungarian will comfortably improve on his previous career high of No. 82 in Monday's update of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
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