Seventh trophy for the Pole, who returns to win a Masters 1000 two years after the exploit in Miami 2021
Hubert Hurkacz returns to win a Masters 1000 two years after the exploit in Miami 2021 and finds a jolt in a season that had seen him slip out of the top 10, but with this success he is in full battle for a place at the ATP Finals. The Pole beat Andrey Rublev in the Shanghai final, his third defeat in the last act of a 1000 (he had already lost in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati 2021). The Russian fails to overtake Jannik Sinner in 4th place in the ranking: a result that would have allowed him to obtain the arithmetic qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin. He finishes 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8) in just over two hours of play, after a splendid match.
the match
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Hurkacz enforces his law of the extraordinary server and doesn’t leave half a chance for the Russian to find the break in the first set. The game that turns the key in the first match is the sixth, in which Hubert gets the break on the third occasion. The Pole maintains the advantage and finishes 6-3. Rublev, the big favorite on the eve, finds a jolt that reopens the match in the second game of the second set, with 3 consecutive points that take him to 2-0. Andrey puts his nervousness aside and maintains the advantage throughout the second set, which ended 6-3 without giving the Pole a break.
the end
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In the third and decisive part Hurkacz trembles on his serve in the third game, but erases the break point with his formidable serve. We proceed without jolts and with no serves until 4-4, with the Pole serving in the ninth game, in a delicate moment. Again, Hubert’s serve makes the difference. Rublev serves to defend the match and, on the ball that concedes the first match point to Hurkacz, he is disturbed by a photographer’s flash and completely loses his mind, receiving a warning from the chair umpire. The Russian cancels everything with an ace, confirmed even after the revision requested by Hurkacz. With three consecutive points Andrey saves himself and extends the match. We go to the tie-break, as in the previous one in Dubai 2022. Rublev breaks through with his backhand and takes a 3-0 lead, but the Pole comes back with two monstrous serves. At 5-2 for Andrey, Hubert’s back is against the wall: the Pole closes to 4-5 and Rublev interrupts a streak of 11 consecutive points on serve by shooting a backhand into the middle of the net. Thanks to the serve, the Russian gets his first match point, canceled by Hurkacz’s twentieth ace. Hubert has two more chances to win the match, but at 8-7 Rublev pulls off a fantastic response on a first at 227 from the Pole. Hurkacz wins the match on the fourth chance, obtaining his seventh career tournament and compliments from Rublev, who smashes yet another racket but has to surrender.