It is very likely that Hubert Hurkacz will play in the ATP Finals tournament at the end of the season. The key to success will be a successful performance in Paris and the failure of competitors. We have checked its current status.
Jacob Ford
WP SportoweFakty / Anna Klebachko / Pictured: Hubert Hurkacz
Currently, five tennis players have confirmed their participation in the ATP Finals tournament. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev – these five have already won a ticket to Turin, where the best players of 2023 will fight from November 12 to 19 for the last trophy.
Therefore, the struggle for the remaining three places continues, with Hubert Hurkacz joining. He won the ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai, and last weekend he reached the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel, losing in the final to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Despite this, the Canadian still helped as he eliminated Holger Rönn, the Pole’s main rival, in the semi-finals.
You may regret that our tennis player He did no better at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. However, he still has a good chance to play in Torino. There is every possibility that all will become clear during the ATP 1000 event in Paris, although Hurkacz will do so. He will also participate in the competition in Metz.
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Competitors deal cards
Stefanos Tsitsipas is one step away from a ticket to Turin, and Alexander Zverev and the aforementioned Rhône are also headed there. In fact, the Greek player will have to try hard not to guarantee himself a place in the season-ending tournament. However, our tennis player lags behind the German by 430 points and the Dane by 215 points.
A lot will depend on how the above players perform in Paris. There will be a lot of points up for grabs there, because after all, we are talking about a Masters event. Because of this, Hurkacz will not only have to win match after match, but he will also have to keep his fingers crossed that his biggest rivals will do worse than him.
This is what the “live” ATP standings currently look like:
Pictured: Live standings of the ATP race
The biggest contender defends the title
We can talk about the pros and cons of this tournament in Ron’s case. On the one hand, there will be pressure on him because he will defend his title in the Masters tournament. Last year in Paris, he managed to defeat Alcaraz (the Dane won the first set, and in the tie-breaker of the second set, he broke the Spaniard – editor’s note), and in the final he turned out to be better than Djokovic himself.
Therefore, the big advantage is that in the capital of France you feel like a fish out of water. This may help him achieve a result that is very close to the performance in Turin. However, it should be noted that life will not be easy from the beginning.
Although the Dane will start the competition in Paris from the second round, he will face the winner of the duel between Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem. These are veteran tennis players who, despite their age, form and position in the ATP rankings, can never be written off. One of them could cause Ron a lot of trouble, or even eliminate him.
In turn, in the third round, the defending champion’s opponent could be another player fighting for the ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz. Therefore, it is certain that someone will take from Paris a maximum of 90 points. On the other hand, there could be a rematch of last year’s final in the quarter-finals, if Ron and Djokovic do not disappoint.
What about Hubert Hurkacz?
First, we must hope that the Polish man will overcome the health problems he suffered in the final of the tournament in Basel before the start of the competition in France. He will wait for his match until Tuesday, where he will face Sebastian Korda in the first round.
The American is an uncomfortable competitor, as he confirmed at this year’s Australian Open. Fortunately, in Shanghai Hurkacz defeated him 6:3, 6:4, making him the favorite in this competition. In the second round, Roberto Bautista awaits the winner of this fight. This is good news, because Jiri Lehica looked like a much more difficult opponent.
What if the Pole plays in the third round? He may have to compete with Casper Ruud. This is another tennis player who is still important in the battle for the ATP Finals, but at the moment the Norwegian is 250 points behind Hurkacz himself, and therefore 465 points behind Rhone. However, when the Wroclaw citizen confronts him, he will have a difficult time.
It will be more difficult if Hurkacz reaches the quarterfinals and Medvedev fails. Although our tennis player has a good way with him, the Russian would clearly be the favorite in such a match. However, competing with him is definitely better than competing with Djokovic, which is what might happen to Ron.
Paris can explain everything
The competition in the French capital promises to be very exciting, mainly due to the fight for a place in the ATP Finals. It is very possible that everything will become clear after this event.
However, there is a possibility that Hurkacz will drop points. Then the competition in Metz will come to the rescue and will be a lifeline. However, there is one “but”. Our tennis player decided not only to protect himself, because such a move was also decided by, among others: Ron or Ruud. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that there will also be a lot of emotions in another French city.
Jacob Fordon is a journalist at WP SportoweFakty
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