Hurkacz reaches Estoril final, Martinez upsets Ruud

Is Hubert Hurkacz set to open his trophy account for 2024 at the Millennium Estoril Open?

The No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings passed a stern test on Saturday at the clay-court ATP 250 in Portugal with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 semi-final triumph against Cristian Garin. Hurkacz held firm in the deciding set of his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with the Chilean to seal a one-hour, 58-minute win and seal his spot in his first tour-level final on clay.

“What a surprise!” said Hurkacz light-heartedly when asked about his clay-court run. “Definitely a great week and it was a really tough battle against Cristian today. He is a really great opponent and there were some tough moments, but I really enjoyed the support of [the crowd] today.”

Hurkacz dialled in behind his booming serve for much of his semi-final victory. The Pole won 75 per cent (39/52) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and he crucially broke Garin’s serve twice in the final set. The 27-year-old Hurkacz is chasing his eighth tour-level crown this week in Estoril, and his first since his triumph at the Rolex Shanghai Masters last October.

FIRST clay final for Hubi 🧱@HubertHurkacz reached his 10th ATP Tour final and first on clay after defeating Garin 6-3 3-6 6-3!@EstorilOpen | #EstorilOpen pic.twitter.com/3ibi6sdNIh

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 6, 2024

Now 18-8 for the year, Hurkacz will take on Pedro Martinez in Sunday’s championship match after the Spaniard outlasted top seed and defending champion Casper Ruud 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a three-hour, seven-minute marathon.

Martinez saved nine of 12 break points he faced against Ruud, a tally which proved crucial as he reached his third ATP Tour final with the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking.

“I knew from the beginning that Casper is, for me, one of the top three guys on clay in the world,” said Martinez after his victory against the World No. 8. “If I wanted to win, I had to play my best and even then wasn’t definitely going to win.

“I tried to play my game and play aggressive over the match, and at the end I am happy that I got the win.”

Martinez is chasing his second tour-level title after his triumph in Santiago in 2022. The 26-year-old has risen 17 spots to No. 60 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Estoril run so far.