Hurkacz charges to first clay-court crown in Estoril

Not even the switch to the slower surface of clay can stop the serve of Hubert Hurkacz.

The Pole deployed his booming delivery to great effect Sunday at the Millennium Estoril Open, where he overcame Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match to lift his eighth ATP Tour title. Hurkacz sent down 15 aces in a classy one-hour, 27-minute display as he stepped into the winners’ circle at a tour-level event on clay for the first time.

“I’m so happy with my performance today,” said Hurkacz. “I’m proud that I found my serve and that definitely helped me a lot. Pedro is such a great competitor, an amazing battle last night. I needed to play really great tennis to compete with him and fortunately I did it.”

FIRST CLAY COURT TITLE FOR HUBI 🔥@HubertHurkacz captures his 8th ATP Tour crown after a straight-set win against Martinez 6-3 6-4! @EstorilOpen | #EstorilOpen pic.twitter.com/NjheZmJaA0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 7, 2024

Hurkacz won 83 per cent (29/35) of points behind his first serve against Martinez, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He wrapped his 87-minute victory with an ace to extend his lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 3-0.

“Obviously it is something special to play in a final,” said Hurkacz after improving to 8-2 in ATP Tour finals. “There was such a great crowd, a great atmosphere and I just really appreciate all the support. It’s an amazing tournament and it was so fun to be here for a week.”

Hurkacz will on Monday rise two spots to a joint-career high No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result of his Estoril title run. The 27-year-old will now be full of confidence as he heads to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where his opening opponent will be Jack Draper.

Despite the disappointment of his final defeat, Martinez can look back on a strong week in Estoril. He sealed the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking against World No. 8 Casper Ruud in the semi-finals, and is set to rise 17 spots to No. 60 on Monday.