Hurkacz, this new earthling

7 matches and 6 victories on clay this year for our Polish friend. What's happening to him ?

Hubert simply “feels good” 😅. I think there is a conjunction between "I didn't get the results I hoped for on hard this year" and "I'm taking the dirt lightly while trying to understand the surface a little better". This made for a very good Estoril during which Hubert was really tested, even if the names he beats are not very sexy. We found a Hubbie who fights, who concedes a lot of break points but who always wins in the end. He could therefore play very well in Madrid with the confidence and his game. He plays a Draper against whom he leads 3-1 and with whom ALL MATCHES went in 3 sets. He has just taken almost 2 weeks to recharge his batteries and do Madrid, Rome then Roland. So we have a guy who is confident, rested and whose game adapts to the surface. Opposite, Jack Draper is less convincing. He's clearly not a dirt player to begin with, and then isn't at his best. He got rid of Kokkinakis in R1 by breaking only twice in 3 sets. He will be able to raise his level of play against a guy he is starting to know well. Their meeting 2 weeks ago had already ended in a victory for the Pole even though he had just played 5 big matches in other conditions. The energy of the moment is therefore clearly on the Polish side for me. Jack Draper will have to work hard and return to aggressive tennis to hope to beat Hubbie. But his confidence and his level on the surface make him a clear outsider. Let's see if we find a value rating now... 👇