Pole Hubert Hurkacz’s strong season continued on Sunday at the Moselle Open as he defeated second seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(2), 6-3 to win his third ATP Tour title of the year.
The World No. 13, who did not drop a set en route to the title, produced an impressive performance against the Spaniard. He rallied from a break down in the first set, hitting with consistent depth from the baseline to secure the victory after 82 minutes.
“Pablo is an amazing player, so playing against him in the final here is something special,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “I needed to raise my level to play my best to be able to compete with him and today I came out on top and I am super, super happy about this.”
Hurkacz has now levelled his ATP Head2Head Series at 1-1 with Carreno Busta, gaining revenge after falling to the 30-year-old in Cincinnati last month. With his victory, the top seed holds a 4-0 record in ATP Tour finals.
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Earlier this year, the Pole lifted the title in Delray Beach, before he captured his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami. The 24-year-old also defeated former World No. 1 Andy Murray this week on his way to winning his first trophy outside of the United States. Hurkacz will later team with Jan Zielinski on Sunday in the doubles final as he aims to clinch both trophies in Metz.
“The atmosphere here is very special here with all of you guys,” Hurkacz added as he complimented the band in the arena. “You guys [the band] make it an amazing atmosphere, so that is so nice that you guys are here.”
Hurkacz started the week in ninth place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin and will be aiming to finish the season strongly as he bids to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.
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In a tight first set, Carreno Busta made a fast start as he manoeuvred Hurkacz around the court to break. However, the Pole began to find his rhythm from the baseline and broke back with a backhand pass in the eighth game. Hurkacz, who won 86 per cent (19/22) of his first-serve points in the set, then raised his level in the tie-break to move ahead.
After breaks were exchanged at the beginning of the second set, Hurkacz continued to play consistently, building the points well as he moved inside the baseline to dictate. The 24-year-old then broke for the fourth time to seal his victory.
Carreno Busta was also seeking his third tour-level trophy of the season, having triumphed in Marbella and Hamburg earlier this year. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, who now holds a 6-4 record in ATP Tour finals, was making his third appearance in Metz.