Pegula and Hurkacz win emotional victories, and Nadal may be coming back for AO\u060c<\/p>\n
It’s not the best season for Hubert Hurkacz.<\/p>\n
Entering the Shanghai Open, Hurkacz, 26, had reached just one final \u2013 winning the 250-level Open 13 in France in February \u2013 and had failed to advance past the fourth round in any major tournaments. Even though he had reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, he had not advanced past the third round in any other 1000-level event. After finishing the 2021 and 2022 seasons in the top 10, it seemed unlikely that he would has the chance to repeat this feat in 2023.<\/p>\n
But everything changed last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arriving in Shanghai ranked 17th, the Polish player had not played a tournament-level match since a surprising defeat in the second round of the US Open. But he showed few signs of rust or lingering disappointment.<\/p>\n He held off Ben Shelton in three hard-fought sets in the quarters with relative ease, and in the semifinals, Hurkacz beat Sebastian Korda, who had handed No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev a straight-sets defeat in the third. round. Hurkacz won the match 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the final.<\/p>\n Facing the red-hot Andrey Rublev, who had beaten an impressive list of seeds throughout his tournament run, the big-serving Hurkacz hit 21 aces and saved a match point in a tiebreak of the third set. With Roger Federer in the crowd, Hurkacz recorded a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8) victory on Sunday.<\/p>\n It was the second 1000-level title of his career, his first since 2021, and his seventh ATP title overall. It was only his second top 10 victory of the season and all the emotions he felt at the end of the two hour and nine minute battle were visible on his face as he raised his arms in a gesture of celebration.<\/p>\n Never forget \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n The moment @HubertHurkacz<\/a> wins the biggest title of his season.#RolexShanghaiMasters<\/a> | @SH_RolexMasters<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RWYlTRqJIC<\/a><\/p>\n -ATP Tour (@atptour) October 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hurkacz, who saw his ranking rise to 11th with the victory, later told reporters that it was “without a doubt” the most exciting<\/a> finish he had ever played. He then posted on social media what the title meant to him.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one is special\u201d he wrote in part<\/a>. \u201cThis season hasn\u2019t been easy but I never stopped believing in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Here’s what you may have missed in the world of tennis last week:<\/p>\n Jessica Pegula played the Korea Open for the first time in 2019. Even though she lost in the first round, the tournament remained memorable for her because Seoul, the host city of the event, is the city where was born his mother, Kim. On that first trip four years ago, Kim came with Pegula and the two visited the orphanage where Kim spent time before being adopted by an American family at age 5.<\/p>\n After Kim suffered a cardiac arrest last summer and has since faced several health issues, Pegula said winning the title in her mother’s birthplace was “a goal.” On Sunday, that’s exactly what she did.<\/p>\n The top seed in the event, Pegula lost just one set en route to the final. In the championship match, Pegula defeated Yue Yuan 6-2, 6-3 and won his second trophy of the year and fourth overall.<\/p>\n After the match, Pegula said to the crowd<\/a> she was half Korean and thanked those in the stands for their support throughout the week. On social media, she called the victory “very special” and explained her ties to Seoul and South Korea.<\/p>\n This one is very special. I’m half Korean. I don’t speak and I’m still learning about my culture (my mother was adopted and left at the door of a Korean police station) but I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from Korean fans. My mother visited her orphanage here when I was playing… pic.twitter.com\/2kUpnEZ2J2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2013 Jessie Pegula (@JPegula) October 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Korea Open was one of three WTA Tour events that concluded on Sunday, so Pegula wasn’t the only woman making room on her mantle for a new trophy.<\/p>\n Leylah Fernandez won the third title of her career and first since March 2022 (and the first not won at the Monterrey Open), with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory over Katerina Siniakova in final at the Hong Kong Open. Kong Open. The 21-year-old Canadian, who reached the US Open final two years ago, has struggled this year and nearly fell out of the top 100 earlier this summer.<\/p>\n But in Hong Kong, Fernandez enjoyed a resurgence, recording wins over Victoria Azarenka, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Fruhvirtova and Anna Blinkova. She is now back at 43rd in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had some very, very difficult years,\u201d Fernandez told the crowd. \u201cMy family, my parents, my coach, my performance coaches, [they’ve] They stood by me and helped me through these difficult times. They motivated me to keep going and the hard work pays off. I hope we can continue like this.\u201d<\/p>\n “I want to thank my team. We’ve had some very difficult years… thank you so much for the trust you have in me. I love you all.”@leylahfernandez<\/a> | #PHKTO2023<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oK5mkhMnjK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2013 wta (@WTA) October 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And then there was rising star Qinwen Zheng, the top-ranked Chinese player on the tour, who won the Zhengzhou Open for her second career title and first in her home country. Like Fernandez, she came back from losing the first set in the final on Sunday and beat former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.<\/p>\n Zheng became the third Chinese woman to win<\/a> a title at WTA 500 level or above, joining two-time major champions Li Na and Zheng Saisai.<\/p>\n It has been a breakout season for Zheng, 21, who won her first WTA tournament in Palermo in July and reached her first major quarterfinals<\/a> last month at the US Open. Despite a contentious breakup with coach Wim Fissette following his run in New York, Zheng did not appear to let his surprising departure affect him on the field.<\/p>\n Zheng talked about overcoming pressure in his victory speech, and his on-court performance (which included 10 aces) was impressive, but if there’s one thing you need to see or know from Sunday, it’s performance that she gave. After<\/i> victory. The self-proclaimed karaoke fan sang for the crowd \u2013 this should probably become a thing for all future trophy ceremonies:<\/p>\n\n What’s better than reaching the first Masters 1000 level quarter-finals of your career? Reach the quarter-finals on your birthday.<\/p>\n This is exactly what happened to Nicolas Jarry on Wednesday. Jarry, 28, beat Diego Schwartzman at the Shanghai Masters in three sets, then got to celebrate his special day with his family.<\/p>\n Her 18-month-old son Juan couldn’t wait for the party to begin. He ran onto the field after the victory to see his father and charmed everyone in the stands<\/a>.<\/p>\n When you just want to join in the victory celebrations \ud83e\udd7a@NicoJarry<\/a> | #RolexShanghaiMasters<\/a> | @SH_RolexMasters<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/F9FIqTlJMJ<\/a><\/p>\n -ATP Tour (@atptour) October 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n He ultimately lost in the quarterfinals to Grigor Dimitrov on Friday, but he still improved to 21st career ranking thanks to his strong performance in Shanghai.<\/p>\n\n
Pegula’s emotional victory<\/h2>\n
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New material for Fernandez and Zheng<\/h2>\n
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Best birthday ever<\/h2>\n
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Not so fast<\/h2>\n