Antwerp 2022: Hubert Hurkacz vs Dominic Thiem preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | European Open
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Hubert Hurkacz vs (PR) Dominic Thiem.
Date: October 21, 2022.
Tournament: European Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Antwerp, Belgium.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: €648,130.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Dominic Thiem preview
Top seed Hubert Hurkacz will take on 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals of the 2022 European Open on Friday.
Following a first-round bye, Hurkacz was up against Jack Draper in the second round. Neither player managed to break serve in the opening set, which went into a tie-break and was claimed by the Pole.
Hurkacz jumped to a 3-1 lead in the second set after nabbing an early break, but Draper fought back to level the score down the line. The set also headed into a tie-break, but the young Brit won it this time to level the proceedings.
The third set was pretty much one-way traffic. Hurkacz dropped just one game in the set to win the match 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-1. He has now reached his ninth quarterfinal of the season and remains in contention to qualify for the ATP Finals.
Dominic Thiem eased past Michael Geerts 6-4, 6-0 to set up a second-round date with sixth seed Francisco Cerundolo. He started off great as he raced to a 3-0 lead in no time. His opponent managed to hold serve to make it 3-1, following which the Austrian won the next three games to clinch the first set.
Cerundolo stepped up his game in the second set after a disappointing start to the match. He broke Thiem's serve twice as he went 5-1 up and served out the set with ease to force a decider.
Cerundolo was the first to go up a break in the final set as he led 4-3, but Thiem leveled the score immediately. With the Argentine serving to stay in the match at 6-5, the former US Open champion broke his opponent's serve one last time to win 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 and reach his fifth quarterfinal of the season.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Dominic Thiem head-to-head
Hurkacz leads Thiem 3-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2022 Moselle Open in straight sets.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Dominic Thiem odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Hubert Hurkacz vs Dominic Thiem prediction
Hurkacz played quite well in the previous round. He hammered 22 aces against a lone double fault, while hitting 55 winners and 20 unforced errors. Thiem's level dipped a bit over the course of his second-round match, but he delivered the goods when it mattered.
The Austrian's stats were nowhere near as good as Hurkacz's. When they met a few weeks ago at the Moselle Open, Thiem was unable to make any inroads on his opponent's big serve. It will be his main task once again and with the 2020 US Open champion playing a lot better now, this match could be more competitive than their previous one.
However, Thiem is still not confident in using his forehand to dictate the play. The shot doesn't put his opponent on the backfoot like it did before. In fact, at times it has the reverse effect of putting himself under pressure.
Hurkacz has no such problems, making things much simpler for him. Expect the top seed to advance further.
Pick: Hubert Hurkacz to win in three sets.