Hubert Hurkacz continues to show that he is comfortable on grass with a straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev at the Terra Wortmann Open semi-finals in Halle by dominating his German opponent, who in contrast, continues to struggle on the surface.
I’ve been serving well. There were some moments where he had hit some love 30s, but I still thought I could get some good points and shots to win those games. I stayed calm Hubert Hurkacz
The 27-year-old Pole, who won the tournament in 2022 – will now play the World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the final after he defeated Zhizhen Zhang
It was also Hurkacz’s first win against a top ten player this season as he crushed German hopes of a home champion 7-6(2) 6-4.
Speaking after the match Hurkacz revealed his joy playing on the surface, claiming: “I love grass” in his post-match interview.
He said: “Sascha [Zverev] is such a great competitor; he was playing some incredible tennis after reaching the French Open final and was playing at a really high level.
“My previous match against him at the beginning of the year in the United Cup finals was sitting in the back of the mind. I had two match points against Sascha, and I thought to myself: ‘not today.’
“I’m really confident on my serve, I’ve been serving well. There were some moments where he had hit some love 30s, but I still thought I could get some good points and shots to win those games. I stayed calm.
“I really love grass; the surface suits my game and the atmosphere of having a full crowd is really incredible.”
Meanwhile Sinner won his first match of the week in straight sets to overcome China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-4 7-6(3) to reach his first grass court final.
It also brought an end Zhangs excellent run to the last four which included a win over Daniil Medvedev.
“It means a lot; I had four very tough matches to get to the final,” Sinner pointed out in reference to the three three-setters he had battled through prior to reaching the semis.
And the added: “First of all, it’s great preparation to go to Wimbledon.
“After here, I have one week off, which is good for me and also good for the body. It was a good match today, and that’s exactly what I what I needed.
“He [Zhang] returned really well and there were some moments where I had to be very careful. I had to save one set point in the second set, otherwise this would’ve gone to three sets.”
When looking ahead to Sunday’s meeting with Hurkacz in the final, he added: “Well it’s going to be very even. He plays so well on this surface; he has won here already and knows this court really well.
“It’s going to be tough, but I’m going to enjoy tomorrow in any case, because it’s always a huge honour and privilege to play in a final.”
Jannik Sinner is preparing for Wimbledon
(Photo by Thomas F. Starke/Getty Images)
