How Did Hurkacz Overcome Pain to Defeat Bautista Agut?

‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands), June 11 (NationPress) Poland's Hubert Hurkacz battled through a mid-match back injury on Wednesday to secure victory in his first outing at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, moving ahead to the second round of the grass-court ATP 250 tournament with a determined win.

The fifth-seeded Hurkacz triumphed over Roberto Bautista Agut with scores of 7-6(2), 6-4, utilizing medical timeouts at 4-3 and 5-4 in the second set to address issues with his lower back. Despite the discomfort, he unleashed 16 aces and clinched 90 percent (45/50) of points behind his first serve, as reported by Infosys ATP Stats, during the match that lasted one hour and 38 minutes.

“This is my first experience here, and I’m truly enjoying it,” said Hurkacz, who now holds a 4-3 record in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Bautista Agut. “Playing on grass is always a pleasure. The end was a bit challenging, but I hope to feel better tomorrow. My back is a little sore, but I’ll work with the physio later.”

Hurkacz is participating in his initial grass-court competition after he was compelled to retire in his second-round match against Arthur Fils at Wimbledon last year. Just two weeks later, he underwent meniscus surgery on his right knee. Next up, Hurkacz will face qualifier Mark Lajal, who achieved the most significant victory of his career by defeating World No. 64 Laslo Djere 6-2, 6-4.

Lajal, ranked No. 195 in the ATP Rankings, becomes only the second Estonian man to achieve a tour-level victory on grass in the Open Era, following Toomas Leius.

Gabriel Diallo secured his place in the quarterfinals by saving two match points to defeat sixth seed Jordan Thompson 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Thompson, a two-time finalist in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, had match points on return at 5-4 in the final set, but Diallo held strong, winning 13 of the last 16 points to claim victory after two hours and eight minutes.

“I played some excellent tennis; he’s a very tricky opponent on grass, and it’s a surface that suits him well,” said Diallo, who is now 2-2 in tour-level grass matches. “I knew I needed to stay sharp. I was close to losing my serve, but I managed to pull off some critical points to maintain the momentum.”

Diallo, who has moved up five spots to No. 50 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, will take on third seed Karen Khachanov, who narrowly defeated qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4). The 29-year-old Khachanov was down 1/3 in the deciding-set tie-break but showcased remarkable resilience to reach his seventh tour-level quarter-final on grass, his first on this surface since Halle in 2022.