Top seed Hubert Hurkacz locks horns with world No. 60 Benjamin Bonzi in the finals of the 2023 Open 13 on Sunday.
The Polish star received a bye into the second round where he came back from a set down to defeat Leandro Riedi 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In the second round, Hurkacz beat Mikael Ymer in a hard-fought contest that ended in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). Hurkacz smashed 19 aces in this encounter.
In the semifinals, Hurkacz got the better of Kazakhstani No. 1 Alexander Bublik. The 26-year-old Hurkacz won the tight match 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). In this clash, he fired in 22 aces and wasn’t broken.
The 26-year-old has reached his second final of the season. He began with a solid 7-5, 7-5 win against Luca Van Assche. In the round of 16, Bonzi showed a lot of grit and determination to fight back from a set down to defeat Maxime Cressy 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3. The quarterfinals saw Bonzi produce a scintillating display to beat 3rd seed Alex de Minaur for the first time in four attempts. The match ended 6-2, 6-4.
In the semifinals, Bonzi produced a solid effort and served quite well to beat countryman Arthur Fils. The match ended 6-4, 6-4. Bonzi had a win percentage of 88 on the first serve.
Hubert Hurkacz has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline against Benjamin Bonzi. The Polish athlete won their only previous encounter, which came in a Challenger event in 2018, in straight sets 6-2, 7-6.
Prediction: Hubert Hurkacz to win in three sets.
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