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The 24-year-old downed Jannik Sinner 7-6(4),
6-4 in the men's final as a handful of double-faults in the
match proved costly for his 19-year-old Italian opponent.
"Obviously I was trying to stay as solid as I can, because he
can hit the balls so hard ... if you let him do that, like, he's
just gonna run around," he told reporters after the match.
"So I was just trying to keep his pace and be able to fight for
each ball."
Hurkacz outlasted fierce competitors including fifth-ranked
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and eighth-ranked Russian Andrey Rublev
in the quarter- and semi-finals, respectively, en route to the
biggest victory of his career, a triumph he was sure to savour.
"I had a big belief in myself ... Winning the tournament like
this like gives you extra, I think, like motivation and
self-confidence," said Hurkacz, now 16th in the world.
"You're able to do it, like you came through like some really
hard moments."
Hurkacz was well-suited to the at-times hot and balmy conditions
in Miami after spending nearly half of last year in Florida. He
won the Delray Beach Open in January, as well.
"I was solid throughout the whole tournament, and I was able to
get through each round, was even more pumped for the next round.
So I think that's something special for me," he said.
"My tennis is getting better."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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