Hubert Hurkacz slows Nadal’s progress in Rome | ATP Tour

Rome

Hurkacz slows Nadal’s progress in Rome

The Pole will face Echeverri in the third round.

May 11, 2024

Protected ranking conditions forced Rafael Nadal to face the difficult task of finishing in the top 10 from the start in each of the three tournaments he played on clay on this tour. More precisely, in the second round. And at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia tournament he met number nine in the PIF ATP rankings.

The Pole halted Nadal’s progress in his ATP Masters 1000 debut in Rome with a 6-1, 6-3 score in one hour and 33 minutes, heading into the third round for the second time in his career at the tournament.

Since then, Hurkacz has not won a single match at Foro Italico. Diego Schwartzman (2020), Lorenzo Musetti (2021), David Goffin (2022) and JJ Wolf (2023) have prevented him from advancing in previous years.

For his part, Nadal arrived confident that he had won four of his last five matches and had the most wins in Rome (70) and ATP Masters 1000 (410) under his belt.

Waiting on the other side of the bracket for the Spaniard was the seventh seed in the first duel recorded by Lexus ATP Head2Head between them. Nadal entered the Foro Italico center court aggressively towards the others, determined to give his opponent trouble. He had up to five break options in his favor, but was unable to capitalize on any of them.

In the next game, Hurkacz experienced a similar situation. However, the ten-time tournament champion escaped danger twice to make it 1-1 in 27 minutes. This was the only game that Nadal was able to win in the first set, because the Pole tied the next five in a chain with 77% of the points scored from the first serve.

The scoreboard indicated a much greater distance than the game suggested. But in the second set the scenario did not change. Especially after Hurkacz managed to open a new gap in the third game, which he then secured with his serve (3-1).

The break was enough for him to confirm his place in the third round, where he will meet Thomas Martin Echeverry. The Argentine beat Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 7-5 in two hours earlier in the day.

Echeverri achieved his best result at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, where in his only previous participation (2023) he reached the second round (left to Novak Djokovic).

Did you know…?

Hubert Hurkacz has a 7-1 record against the Spanish on clay on the ATP Tour.