Pablo Carreno Busta defeats Hubert Hurkacz (3/6 6/3 6/3) in the Rogers Cup’s final in Montreal on the 14th of August.
The Spanish player have had to wait to be 31 years old to win his 7th trophy, but most importantly his maiden Master 1000. Pablo Carreno Busta jumped on the opportunity that this tournament offered considering the early elimination of Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. It has been the first time since 1999 that the top three seeds lose in the first round of a Master 1000. The Big Three not being there wasn’t enough for the Next Gen to win.
The first set of this encounter was easily won by Hubert Hurkacz who played his best tennis. Despite a few enforced errors at the beginning, the Polish was clearly above Carreno Busta: deep returns, successful rises to the net and balls hit early on the baseline. Helped by the Spanish player who accumulated errors, Hurkacz won his first break point in the 5th game. He kept his advantage and took the first set 6/3.
Pablo Carreno Busta didn’t seem discouraged and began the second set with his first love game. He immediately took another one that allowed him to break – while encouraged by loads of errors from Hurkacz. The Spanish choked his opponent with a tennis way more aggressive than in the beginning of the match. This change of strategy was allowed by the amelioration of his serve: he went from 56% of first ball to 86% in the second set. Logically, he evened out.
The deciding set began after 8 minutes without play because Hurkacz took a toilet break. The last set strangely looked like the second one. Both players followed opposite ways: one was rising his level of play while the other one multiplied unforced errors. Pablo Carreno Busta broke early – and that was enough to win the biggest title of his career: 3/6 6/3 6/3
This victory is well deserved by the Spanish who reinvented himself. After loosing the first set because of long rallies from the back of the court, he changed the rhythm of the game by coming to the net more often. The 10th in the world lost his focus despite his coach’s cheering. It’s the first lost final of his career.
Marnie Abbou
