Hubert Hurkacz comes through 'emotional battle' to win second Masters 1000 title

The Pole was the 16th seed at the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the year and is somewhat of a surprise winner, much like in his maiden title at this level in Miami two years ago.

And he reacted to the victory following the conclusion of the match, "It was such a battle. Especially emotionally. 

"I had a match point and Andrey hit an amazing serve and then he had a match point and then I had some match points. It was back and forth and such a tricky match."

Hurkacz added, "Andrey was playing some great shots. I was trying to respond. It was one of those matches and I kept believing and I am super happy with how I managed at the end. It is such a big tournament and so much tradition. It is a huge event and I am really happy now."

The final was onlooked by two-time Shanghai Masters champion Roger Federer, who actually lost his final ever singles match to Hurkacz at Wimbledon in 2021.

And the 26-year-old revealed he was 'really happy' to see the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the crowd.

“It’s really cool. Seeing Roger in the stands and healthy. He has so much success here, winning it a couple of times," said Hurkacz. "It’s such a big tournament with so much tradition throughout the year. It’s a huge event and I’m really happy today."

With this victory, Hurkacz moves back on the brink of the top 10 in both the ATP rankings and the race to the ATP Finals (No.11).

Hurkacz will look to continue his momentum this week at the Japan Open in Tokyo, beginning his campaign against Chinese No.1 Zhizhen Zhang, who he actually beat in the fourth round in Shanghai.