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"It was such a battle," Hurkacz said.
"Especially emotionally. I had a match point and Andrey hit an
amazing serve and then he had a match point and then I had some
match points."
Fifth seed Rublev came into the final without having dropped a
set, but that quickly changed when Hurkacz broke the Russian's
serve to go 4-2 up and finished off the opening set with an ace.
Hurkacz has hit more aces than anyone on the ATP tour this
season, and began in the same form in the first set, hitting
seven aces to Rublev's two, but the Russian roared back.
Rublev broke Hurkacz's serve early in the second set but it was
in the final set where the match really came to life. With
Rublev serving at 5-4 down, and the game at deuce, the Russian
lost his temper.
A movement from a photographer when Rublev lost a point and
Hurkacz now with advantage, saw the umpire reprimand the Russian
for lashing out angrily.
Rublev steadied himself to save match point and hold serve, and
in the tiebreak he snatched early control to take a 3-0 lead.
Two aces from the Polish player kept him in touch and at 5-6
down he served another ace to save match point.
"It was back and forth and such a tricky match. Andrey was
playing some great shots. I was trying to respond," Hurkacz
said.
Both players broke serve again in quick succession to level the
tiebreak at 8-8, but it was Hurkacz who had the last word and
broke Rublev's serve again to win the title.
"It was one of those matches and I kept believing and I am super
happy with how I managed at the end," Hurkacz said.
"It is such a big tournament and so much tradition. It is a huge
event and I am really happy now."
Hurkacz, who won the Miami Open in 2021, will now move up to
11th in the ATP world rankings.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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