From Pete Sampras at the net to Rafael Nadal's mentality and Novak Djokovic's return: Hubert Hurkacz builds his perfect player
From choosing Novak Djokovic's return to Rafael Nadal's mentality, Polish tennis pro Hubert Hurkacz built his perfect tennis player during a recent social media interaction.
Hurkacz, 26, is currently in Washington to compete in the 2023 Citi Open. The Pole had an underwhelming Wimbledon campaign as he lost to World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the tournament. Hurkacz's best ever performance at a Grand Slam came in the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the last four before losing to Matteo Berrettini.
Earlier this week, Hubert Hurkacz initiated a Q&A session on social media. One user asked him to build his own perfect player, taking attributes from some of the best players on the ATP Tour.
The 26-year-old Pole chose Nadal's mentality, Federer's forehand, Djokovic's return, and Andy Murray's backhand. Besides these, Hurkacz also added John Isner's serve and Pete Sampras' skills at the net.
Forehand: Roger
Backhand: Murray
Serve: Isner
Return: Djokovic
Net: Sampras
Mentality: Nadal twitter.com/haheki22/statu…
During the same session, Hurkacz also revealed what would have been his alternate career option had he not been a tennis player.
"I would love to race cars," the Pole wrote on Twitter.
Tennis icon Roger Federer, who retired in 2022 after the Laver Cup, played his last professional singles match on the tour against Hurkacz. In the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, Hurkacz beat Federer, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0, in the quarterfinals.
At the 2023 Citi Open, fourth-seed Hurkacz received a bye in the first round and will kick off his campaign in the second round on Wedesnday, August 2.
How has Hubert Hurkacz fared against Novak Djokovic?
Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz have met each other six times on the tour. However, the Pole is yet to win a single game against the former World No. 1 and hence, trails the head-to-head by 6-0.
The duo first played against each other at the 2019 French Open. The Serb defeated Hurkacz in straight sets in the first round of the tournament. They met again in 2019, at Wimbledon, where the 23-time Grand Slam winner beat Hurkacz in four sets.
Djokovic then beat the Pole in the semifinals of the 2021 Paris Open and in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Madrid Open. At the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships, Djokovic continued his winning streak against Hukacz by beating him in the quarterfinals.
In their most recent encounter at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic beat Hurkacz in four sets, 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4.