Hubert Hurkacz in action. (Instagram)
The world No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz takes on the world No. 17 Frances Tiafoe in what promises to be an interesting opening round clash at the Vienna Open on Tuesday.
The Polish star won the Halle Open after defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the final. Prior to this emphatic result, Hurkacz had made it to the semifinals in the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Miami Open. He also reached the finals in Montreal but lost to Pablo Carreno Busta. The 25-year-old was ousted in yet another semifinal in the Moselle Open in Metz.
Prior to the Vienna Open, Hurkacz reached the quarterfinals in Astana and Antwerp. In Astana, he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas while in Antwerp, Thiem got the better of him in a close encounter.
The 24-year-old has been in fine form since his excellent US Open campaign. Earlier in the year, Tiafoe made it to the finals of the Estoril Open in May but lost to Sebastian Baez. He had to wait for a couple of months to produce another result of note. In the Atlanta Open, Tiafoe reached the semis. The American youngster produced a terrific display in Flushing Meadows during his run to the semis. It was his first semi-final appearance in a major event and he defeated Rafael Nadal during the campaign.
Tiafoe reached the finals of the Japan Open but lost to compatriot Taylor Fritz. The former most recently played in the Stockholm Open and was ousted in the quarterfinals by Emil Ruusuvuori.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 2-2. Their most recent meeting was at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters Hurkacz defeated Tiafoe in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Prediction: Frances Tiafoe to win in three sets.
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