Hubert Hurkacz has become accustomed to two things – that he often has problems at the beginning of Grand Slam tournaments with opponents ranked much lower and that he is great on grass courts. In the 1st round match at Wimbledon he combined these two elements – he started with problems and lost a set with Radu Albot, 144th on the world list, but eventually won in four – 5:7, 6:4, 6:3, 6:4.
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Hurkacz and the game on grass seem to be an ideal combination. The Pole’s great asset is his serve, and on this surface it is of exceptional importance. It is no coincidence that it was at Wimbledon that he achieved his greatest success in the history of his Grand Slam appearances – three years ago he reached the semi-finals.
– I really love grass. Wimbledon is special – the whole atmosphere, the crowd, so much history. Lifting the trophy in two weeks would be something special – admitted the 27-year-old from Wrocław at a press conference.
He is mentioned among several favorites of this edition of the London event. Although it was the same two years ago, but then he had already lost the opening match. Now he was not close, but his love for grass courts was certainly put to the test due to the rain. Often during the duel with Albot it was lightly drizzling, and at one point it became so intense that the competition was interrupted. And this rather helped the Pole, because previously his game was full of mistakes and problems with running on the slippery court. After returning, he performed better and better from game to game.
– Did the rain bother me? We’re in England, in London, so it should rain here from time to time. But seriously, of course, I have some experience playing in such conditions, so I managed. With grass, even if it drizzles a little, it immediately becomes wet and slippery. Whereas on any other surface there’s no way to have a break – he pointed out.
Summing up the match, Hurkacz also admitted that he knew he had to go into higher gear and was constantly looking for that moment. When one of the journalists asked why he started at a lower speed, the tennis player smiled and added:
– We don’t live in a perfect world. You’d like to go out and serve aces and have every shot be perfect. But that’s unrealistic. You have to adapt to specific conditions – he noted.
This time, several foreign journalists appeared at his press conference. One of them asked the Pole if he had ever spoken to Iga Świątek about how she deals with pressure and expectations. In the case of Wimbledon, he is the one dealing with that.
– Yes, we talked a bit. But just watching her play, her victories is very inspiring. You can see how incredibly she copes with difficult situations – Hurkacz praised the world ranking leader. She also advanced to the second round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.