Hurkacz clinches first clay win of the year in Estoril, Ruud advances

Hubert Hurkacz clinched his first clay-court win of the season on Thursday when he advanced to the quarter-finals at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The second-seeded Pole moved past British qualifier Jan Choinski 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 49 minutes. Hurkacz rallied from 3-5 in the first set, before he struck six aces in the second set to advance at the ATP 250 in Portugal.

“It was positive. I got the win in the end,” Hurkacz said. “It has been challenging playing the first match of the year on the clay court. You have to adjust to the movement and [I did not] have that much time to prepare for the tournament, it is difficult.

“It is a little bit frustrating as you know you are not doing the right stuff and wish you felt more comfortable on the surface. You just have to deal with it and fight.”

Hurkcaz, who is searching for his first title of the season, now holds a 6-1 record in opening-round matches in 2024. He will next play Pablo Llamas Ruiz after the Spaniard beat countryman David Jorda Sanchis 7-6(2), 6-4.

Defending champion Casper Ruud began his title defence with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Botic van de Zandschulp. The top-seeded Norwegian saved both break points he faced to triumph after 75 minutes.

Ruud has won nine of his 10 tour-level titles on clay, with his last crowning victory on the ATP Tour coming last year in Estoril. The No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will continue his title quest against Marton Fucsovics, who saved three match points to beat Gael Monfils 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.

In a battle between two former Top 10 stars, Richard Gasquet overcame Dominic Thiem 6-4, 7-6(6).

The Frenchman, who won the title in Estoril in 2015, saved two set points in the second-set tie-break from 4/6, eventually triumphing on his second match point after two hours and three minutes. Gasquet has levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Thiem at 3-3 following his victory.

Into his first tour-level quarter-final of the season, Gasquet will next play Pedro Martinez, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 6-4.

Portugal’s No. 1 Nuno Borges also advanced, defeating Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(4), 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes. Borges, who saved two set points on serve at 5-6 in the first set, is chasing his maiden tour-level title this week.

Borges is the first Portuguese man to reach the last eight in Estoril since Joao Domingues in 2019.

Earlier this season, the 27-year-old advanced to the fourth round at a major for the first time at the Australian Open and won an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Phoenix.

Fucsovics closed the day's play with a dramatic victory against seventh seed Monfils. Fucsovics saved three match points on serve at 4-5 in the final set, then won three consecutive games to wrestle away the victory.

Behind his second Top 50 win of the season, the Hungarian advanced to his 22nd tour-level quarter-final and his fourth on clay. He will seek another against Ruud in what will be th e pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. They previously met in a Challenger in Budapest in 2017, when Fucsovics scored a 6-0, 6-0 win on home soil.