Tennis News: Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz continues his quest to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin this season after claiming his maiden victory at the Astana Open.
In the opening of the Astana Open, the world number 10 eliminated Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 7-6.
The 25-year-old appeared to stay in control for 82 minutes against Cerundolo, including firing 11 aces and earning a break point to book a second-half clash against either Alexander Bublik or Tallon Griekspoor.
Seventh-seeded Hurkacz is currently ninth in the ATP Race to Turin standings, just 20 points behind eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who has been out of tennis since Roland Garros this season due to a serious ankle injury. .
Hurkacz made his debut in the season-ending ATP Finals last season and hopes to boost his chances of returning to the tournament by going further at the Astana Open.
In other action, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut made his Astana Open debut with a 6-4, 7-6 win over eighth seed Felix Auger Aliassime.
Bautista Agut came back from behind with a break in the second set before claiming victory in 1:55. Thanks to this victory, the player, who won the titles in Doha and Kitzbühel this season, reduced the head-to-head lead against the Canadian Auger Aliassime by 2-3.
In the second round, Bautista Agut will meet his compatriot, Alejandro Davidoovich Fokina or Pavel Kotov.
“For my first time here. I played well in these conditions. I’m very happy to win a match against a top 10 player. Beating Felix is not easy, especially in hard indoor tournaments. It means I have to play a very good game. I played very solid and very aggressive,” said Bautista Agut.
Meanwhile, French veteran Adrian Mannarino knocked out Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 so he is now 2-0 in their head to head. In the second round, he will face the first seed, Carlos Alcaraz or the Belgian tennis player, David Goffin.
Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp also reached the second round of the Japan Open after knocking out host, Beibit Zhukzyev with a 6-1, 6-1 landslide, while China’s Zhizhen Zhang silenced Aslan Karatsev 4-6, 6 – 4, 6-1.
Tags: Tennis, Astana Open, Hubert Hurkacz, Roberto Bautista Agut
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/hubert-hurkacz-jaga-asa-menuju-turin-dengan-bertahan-di-astana
