By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday January 4, 2021
Hubert Hurkacz topped Diego Schwartzman to power Poland into the semifinals at the ATP Cup for the first time.
The ATP Cup has been a boon for Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. The 24-year-old remained perfect at 6-0 in singles in the competition by taking down Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday in Sydney, sending Poland through to the semifinals for the first time.
It was a team effort for the Poles, who ended up sweeping the tie, 3-0 over the slightly favored Argentine squad.
Kamil Majchrzak opened the tie with an upset victory over Federico Delbonis, the World No.117 recording his first ever Top-50 victory with a 6-3, 7-6 triumph over the 44th-ranked southpaw.
Majchrzak’s handiwork set the tone for a third showdown between Schwartzman and Hurkacz – the previous two had gone three sets.
But on Wednesday in Sydney Hurkacz was too clean, too men and just ruthless enough to keep Schwartzman from ever mounting a rally.
He craked 28 winners to just 12 for Schwartzman and never surrendered a break of serve. Hurkacz won the lion’s share of points in the match, as he won 68 of 116 points played (59 percent).
Carreno Busta sends Spain through
Thanks to Chile’s win over Norway earlier on Wednesday, Spain only needed one victory to clinch a semifinal berth in Group A. Pablo Carreno Busta made sure that his team didn’t need to wait as he defeated Filip Krajinovic with a stunning performance, 6-3, 6-4.
Carreno Busta cracked 30 winners against 11 unforced errors and broke serve three times on six opportunities. It was a high quality affair between two of the purest ball strikers on tour, but Krajinovic just couldn’t keep up with the 30-year-old Spaniard at the crucial junctures.
The final day of group play will be contested tomorrow in Sydney, with USA facing Great Britain, France facing Australia, Russia taking on Italy and Germany locking horns with Canada.