The Pole beat 19-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner in the final after going through the likes of Tsitipas and Rublev in earlier rounds.
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Motivation and self-confidence. These were the two things Hubert Hurkacz was high on after he was thrust into the top 20 for the first time in his career. The Pole earned his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open on Sunday as he beat Jannik Sinner in the final on Sunday. The match ended 7-6(4), 6-4 with a handful of double faults proving costly for the 19-year-old Italian. Hurkacz said that he tried to keep up with Sinner and fight for every ball, after the match.
“Obviously, I was trying to stay as solid as I can, because he can hit the balls so hard … if you let him do that, like, he’s just gonna run around,” he said as per news agency Reuters. “So, I was just trying to keep his pace and be able to fight for each ball.”
The road to the final had been anything but easy for Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole saw off fifth-ranked Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and eighth-ranked Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. His run in the tournament had sure been impressive, worthy of being crowned champion.
The 24-year-old is currently ranked 16th and was sure to savor the well-deserved victory.
“I had a big belief in myself … Winning the tournament like this like gives you extra, I think, like motivation and self-confidence,” he said. “You’re able to do it, like you came through like some really hard moments.”
Hurkacz also said that he felt his tennis was getting better.
The Pole had been well suited to the Miami conditions, after spending almost half a year in Florida. He had also won the Delray Beach Open in January.
“I was solid throughout the whole tournament, and I was able to get through each round, was even more pumped for the next round. So I think that’s something special for me,” he said.
