Thriller in Hubert Hurkacz's match. Huge problems in the first round

Roland Garros started on Sunday, May 26. On the first day of this Grand Slam tournament, we watched Hubert Hurkacz, the eighth tennis player in the world, in action. His rival was Shintaro Mochizuki (ATP 162). It was the first clash between a Pole and a Japanese. The favorite, of course, was the more experienced “Hubi”. For his opponent, it was only his third appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.

Roland Garros: Nice bad start in the first set

This match started well with Hurkacz, who defended his pass. In the next game, Mochizuki made a lot of mistakes, which resulted in a break. Unfortunately, in the next round Hurkacz also missed the court, and it could be said that he allowed his opponent to break back without a fight.

In the match against the Pole, the Japanese used many different moves. He sent shortcuts and ran to the net, surprising the Pole. Thanks to this, he equalized a moment later, so the Pole again had to look for a way to break away from his rival.

With the score 3:3, the Japanese quite unexpectedly had another break points in the match. Hurkacz made a lot of mistakes, and the Japanese successfully returned after the Pole's pass. What Mochizuki lacked in height and strength, he made up for in speed. Thanks to this and the “help” of his rival, he broke it and took the lead for the first time, and then increased it (3:5). Ultimately, this game ended with the Japanese winning 4:6.

Hurkacz returned to the game in the second set

Hurkacz, clearly irritated, opened the second set brilliantly. He didn't give his rival much chance to make another surprise. Unfortunately, the situation quickly changed. Already in the fifth game, the Japanese had further break points, and commentators emphasized the sloppiness of the Pole's play. Fortunately, the Pole is famous for his excellent passing, which allowed him to “serve” this game.

Mochizuki finally started making mistakes, for example on the serve, which gave the Pole break points. Finally, after several attempts, the Wrocław resident finally achieved his goal and jumped to 4:2. It seemed that the situation from the first set would repeat itself, when Hurkacz was quickly broken off. Fortunately, in this situation, a good serve allowed the Pole to reverse the score at 0:30 and confirm the break. “Hubi” won this game 6:3.

Roland Garros: The winner was decided in the fifth set

Unfortunately, in the third set Hurkacz had problems again. In the second game he was broken, which allowed the Japanese to take the lead 1:4. Unfortunately, the Pole was unable to reverse his fate and lost it 3:6. This loss was an incentive to play better. This time the roles were reversed and it was Hurkacz who broke his opponent in the second game and repeated it in the fourth. This perfect game was crowned with a “bagel” from the Pole (6:0).

In the deciding set, Hurkacz was the first to break points with the score being 3-2. After another double service error by the Japanese, the Pole jumped away. With the score 5-2, the match was interrupted due to rain. After about 90 minutes, the match was resumed, and ultimately “Hubi” won – 6:3.