By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, October 14, 2023
Hubert Hurkacz won 40 of 47 first-serve points and did not face a break point stopping Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 to power into the Shanghai final.
Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Pulling his Yonex racquet from his bag, Hubert Hurkacz turned today's Shanghai semifinals into hammer time.
Pounding down 14 aces against no double faults, Hurkacz hammered out a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Korda to power into his third career Masters 1000 final at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Korda's Dream: Defeat Dad
Nearly-flawless on first serve, Hurkacz won 40 of 47 first-serve points and did not face a break point in a commanding 76-minute victory.
"I'm really happy with my performance today," Hurkacz said. "I definitely know I was serving well and I was playing some good groundstrokes. And definitely I was putting some pressure on Sebi from the ground."
Prior to today's opening semifinal, Korda called Hurkacz "one of the best servers on tour, he's got a super tricky serve."
That wasn't hyperbole coming from Korda.
Tournament ace leader Hurkacz has pumped 77 aces in five matches this week.
The 16th-seeded Hurkacz carries a superb 6-1 record in finals into Sunday's title match where he will face fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev.
A red-hot Rublev dispatched No. 18-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(7), 6-3.
It was Rublev's 50th win of the season and his 200th career hard-court victory.
"It's not easy when you win matches against friends because you feel both sides," said Rublev, who shared a warm embrace with buddy Dimitrov at net. "You feel sad, but in the same time you want to win. So it's like a mix of feelings.
"I feel really sorry for the situation in the tiebreak at 3-2 because of the let and I wanted to replay the point, but Grigor, he behaved like a real champion and said it's not about you, so he give me the point, basically. And maybe because of this point, I was able to win the tiebreak."
The Polish No. 1 has split four meetings with Rublev, who has not dropped a set en route to his 23rd career final. Rublev is playing for his 15th career championship tomorrow.
"Now, I'm thinking only to rest and try to recover for tomorrow," Rublev said. "Because Hubie is so tough to play. He's one of the players that you don't want to face because he can beat everyone. He's talented the way he serves, the way he hits the ball."
Contesting his third straight semifinal and fourth in his last five tournaments, Korda was the first American man to reach the Shanghai semifinals.
Navigating a 12-point game, Hurkacz held for 3-2 then immediately applied pressure. Hurkacz converted his second break point to snatch a 4-2 lead.
Hurkacz reeled off 10 consecutive points on serve seizing a one-set lead.
Today's first semifinal pitted two of the top two-handed backhands in the tournament. Hurkacz laced the sideline with a biting backhand return breaking at 30 to start the second set.
The 2021 Miami Open champion was pushed to deuce just once in five service games in the second set. Hurkacz wrapped an impressive 76-minute victory, raising his 2023 record to 38-20 with his second win over Korda in three meetings.