Is that a surprise? If you look solely at his form this year, the answer is: Yes! If you look at the history of the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN, then: No! Hubert Hurkacz, who hasn’t achieved much so far this year and had to take a seven-month break last year due to knee problems, defeated Andrey Rublev – currently ranked 13th in the world and seeded eighth in Halle – 6-3, 6-2. The serving giant from Poland is back. Could it end just like in 2022? Four years ago, Hurkacz won the title at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN; a repeat cannot be ruled out entirely.
Hubert Hurkacz (ATP 103) broke serve to lead 4-2 in the first set, and after just over half an hour he converted his second set point to take the set 6-3. In the second set, the 1.96-metre giant immediately broke to go 1-0 up and later broke again to make it 5-2. He converted his first match point to seal a 6-2 victory. In total, Hurkacz hit eleven aces, whilst Rublev produced eleven double faults. The Pole, who has now won five of his seven encounters against Rublev, will face Daniel Altmaier in the round of 16.
Hurkacz only made it straight into the main draw in Halle because he took advantage of the ATP’s protected ranking rule. After a seven-month injury lay-off, which included knee surgery, the Pole had only returned to the tennis circuit at the start of the year. During those seven months, the 29-year-old lost a lot of world ranking points, which made his return easier. However, Hurkacz has struggled to get going this year: in Halle, he has only made it past the first round for the fifth time on the tour this season.
Rublev and Hurkacz have dominated the first half of the current decade in Halle. Hurkacz won the title at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN in 2022 and reached the final in 2024, which he lost to Jannik Sinner. Rublev is still waiting for his first triumph in Halle, having reached the final in both 2021 and 2023 (losing to Ugo Humbert and Alexander Bublik respectively).
