Polish fans are definitely looking forward to Thursday more. Then Hubert Hurkacz will face the second-placed ATP Ranking, Daniil Medvedev, in the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament in Miami. The Pole is defending the title in Florida, and his rival in the absence of Novak Djokovic is the highest-ranked player on the field. On Tuesday, the Poles defeated Lloyd Harris.
In between, the 25-year-old and his partner John Isner faced a doubles match with duo Rajiv Ram and Joe Salisbury. The first match was started by the opponents of the Polish-American duo and they did not lose the match in it. Both pairs succeeded in their positions and it took them a long time to break through. It’s worth noting that Hurkacz looked really good that day. The service was working, the air shot and the return was good too. This is a good omen before Thursday’s duel with the Russian.
The first jewel was very even, neither of the spouses showed weakness, but consistently won their request. Hurkacz, who looked like the captain of his two-man team, was delighted. In the 12th game, with the British-American duo leading 6:5, it was 30:15 for them after Isner’s botched shot. The pole saved the situation, first showing a great short cut, and after a moment he showed a perfect backhand! In the end there was a tie breaker.
In it, the Polish-American duo was already leading 5: 2. But the competitors did not give up and quickly brought them to a state of equilibrium. Isner broke the ball, and the opponents almost won the first set, but Hurkacz equalized again. Pole withstood the pressure better than his partner. He also proved it by sending an ace to 7:7! Earlier, Salisbury had hit a shot on goal. In the end, Hurkacz and Isner won the first match! They needed 54 minutes for this.
They started the second set with a winning match. Next was the first breakthrough in the match! Unfortunately, they quickly gave up their supremacy and eventually Ram and Salisbury tied in the second set. Since then, things have returned to balance and both pairs have won service games. That changed in the eighth game. The Polish-American couple broke their rivals for the second time. Isner served in the decisive match, but Hurkacz bravely backed him. This duo had a 40:0 lead, but the rivals struck a balance. Fortunately, at the decisive moment, Isner showed the performance of the service.
Tansi Kokinakis and Nick Kyrgios await the Poles and the Americans in the semi-finals.
Hubert Hurkacz / John Isner – Rajiv Ram / Joe Salisbury 2:0 (7:6 and 6:3)
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