[ad_1]
Hubert Hurkacz held his nerve in a dramatic tie-break to defeat Andrey Rublev in a thrilling final to win the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.
The Pole won 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-8) in a tight match that boiled down to an all-deciding tie-breaker.
A good start from Hurkacz saw Rublev respond by levelling in the second set, but the contest ultimately came down to the third set tie-breaker.
A closely-fought encounter saw both players saving one match point each but Hurkacz served up two aces to pull away and snatch victory.
He told the ATP website: “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. 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.”
Hurkacz’s previous Masters 1000 win came at the Miami Open in 2021, where he defeated Jannik Sinner in the final.
World No 4 Jessica Pegula earned her second WTA title of the season after winning the Hana Bank Korea Open.
She beat China’s Yuan Yue in straight sets, 6-2 6-3, to become the first American since Venus Williams in 2007 to win in Seoul.
Pegula was seeded No 1 for the tournament after accepting a wild card and only dropped one set throughout the competition during her quarter-final against Claire Liu.
Yuan started well to take a 2-1 lead in the opening set but Pegula took control, returning well on the second serve before establishing a 3-0 lead in the second set to win the final.
The victory follows her lifting the title in Montreal over the summer.
Speaking after her victory, Pegula said: “My mom is Korean and she was adopted from here so it’s really special to be able to win here.
“In the last few years, as my ranking has gone up, I’ve definitely felt so much more support from the fans, a lot more than I expected coming back here from five years ago. So it’s really special.”
Chinese No 1 Zheng Qinwen claimed her second singles title – and first on home soil – at the Zhengzhou Open.
The 21-year-old thrilled the home crowd after coming from behind to edge a 2-6 6-2 6-4 win over seventh seed Barbora Krejcikova in a match lasting almost two and a half hours.
Zheng, last season’s WTA Newcomer of the Year, picked up her first title this summer on the clay courts of Palermo, before reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the 2023 US Open.
Leylah Fernandez rallied from a set down to defeat Katerina Siniakova 3-6 6-4 6-4 and win the Hong Kong Open for her first title in 19 months.
[ad_2]
Source link