Context
Though this could be said about virtually any tennis competition, the 2021 Delray Beach Open has been an interesting tournament. The top three seeds fell before the semifinals. Christian Harrison, the unseeded American with an injury-riddled career, made a dream run to the semifinals as well as advancing to the doubles final with his brother, Ryan. He has come under fire for taking his mask off during a post-match interview (costing him $3,000, a sizable piece of the prize money he earned this week) and for expressing some disturbing anti-mask beliefs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hubert Hurkacz ended Harrison’s run in the semifinals: 7-6 (4), 6-4. The fourth-seeded Pole is yet to lose a set in the tournament and likely is a slight favorite against his final opponent: 20-year-old Sebastian Korda. Though Korda has recorded wins at just two ATP tournaments in his young career, his play this week has been compelling. He dispatched second-seed John Isner in the quarterfinals, making each of the big-serving Isner’s service games in the first set a struggle. He then displayed grace under pressure to serve out the match from love-40 down. Korda has been shaky when closing out his wins; it took him several match points to finish off Soon-woo Kwon and Cameron Norrie. Still, he overcame his moments of wavering, and now stands in the final. He possesses impressive power on both forehand and backhand, though he lacks some patience in baseline rallies at times. He has been exceptional at converting break points in this tournament; against Tommy Paul, he claimed the deciding set 6-2 despite having six break points to Paul’s eleven in the match.
Despite Korda’s promise and power, Hurkacz should pose a more difficult test than the young American’s competition so far this week. He moves well, especially so considering his six-five frame, it is hard to hit through him, and he has considerable firepower (though he doesn’t always tap into it). He is ranked over eighty spots above Korda and has been on tour for years longer. Unlike Korda, Hurkacz has been in an ATP final before (Winston-Salem in 2019, which he won). He played at a sufficiently high level to beat Novak Djokovic in a tiebreak during Wimbledon the same year. Hurkacz has lost more than four games in a set just once in Delray Beach this year, and he went on to win that set in a tiebreak. It should be mentioned that he hasn’t yet played anyone in the top 100 this tournament, though, so his storming through the competition isn’t much of a surprise. He will like his chances of adding a second title to his name.
Let’s hope for a great match!
First set: Hurkacz 0-1 Korda (italicized name denotes server)
Hurkacz begins by netting a weak forehand. He follows it up with a netted backhand and is under pressure immediately at love-30. A Hurkacz forehand clips the tape and sits up, allowing Korda to bang a forehand winner down the line. Three break points. A deep return from Korda draws an attackable ball, and the young American forces the error with a powerful forehand. He couldn’t have hoped for a better start.
Hurkacz 0-2 Korda
Korda surrenders his first point of the match with a double fault. Hurkacz gifts a point with another missed backhand; it fluttered into the bottom of the net. He’s not won a point on his own merit yet. Korda curls an inside-in forehand wide for 15-30, but Hurkacz’s backhand misfires yet again on the next point. It’s been a very scratchy start from the Pole. He shanks a backhand — already his fourth or fifth unforced error from that side — before Korda sends down his first ace to hold.
Hurkacz 1-2 Korda
Hurkacz rushes the net, only to be defeated by a sharp backhand pass from Korda. This is a pretty important game in the context of the set. A good serve and a Korda forehand error make it 30-15. A clean rally follows, with Korda appearing to have a slight advantage, but he badly misses a crosscourt backhand. A deep second serve draws a long return, so Hurkacz holds to 15.
Hurkacz 1-3 Korda
Korda sets up an easy putaway with a forehand down the line, but badly misses the swing volley, the ball ricocheting off the tape and well out of play. He bites back with a strong one-two punch, then Hurkacz makes yet another loose backhand error. Wonder if he should mix in the slice in an attempt to stop giving away so many points from that side. Korda slams down a service winner for 40-15, then holds after the best rally of the match so far, clinched by an error-forcing backhand down the line.
Hurkacz 2-3 Korda
Two service winners followed by one of Hurkacz’s first good backhands of the match (an inside-out dart) make it 40-love. Hurkacz holds to love with an ace.
That was obviously Hurkacz’s best game of the match. He simply needs to put more groundstrokes — particularly backhands — between the lines on the return to give Korda a chance to make errors.
Hurkacz 3-3 Korda
Korda narrowly misses an attempted inside-in forehand winner. He went for that reasonably early in the rally; there haven’t been a lot of long exchanges yet. Both players are still settling in. Korda overpowers Hurkacz with a heavy crosscourt forehand: 15-all. Hurkacz fires a great backhand passing shot down the line that Korda can’t handle. Half-chance at 15-30. Korda misses another forehand, granting Hurkacz his first break points of the match. The Pole only needs one, forcing an error with another big backhand down the line. That was a much better return game from Hurkacz. He didn’t give up any cheap points.
Hurkacz 4-3 Korda
It’s quickly 30-love after a pair of good serves. A second serve to the body yields a netted return; three game points. Korda rips a crosscourt forehand winner on the run at a tight angle, but another service winner completes the hold. Big momentum shift in the last five minutes.
Hurkacz 5-3 Korda
This is a big game. Hurkacz has won eight of the last ten points after his shaky start and Korda needs to hold to anchor himself in the set. Hurkacz badly misses a backhand — Korda struck a deep inside-out forehand, but the reply didn’t come close to the court. Korda crunches an inside-in forehand winner for 30-love. Easy power. A forehand error and a double fault bring up a very important point at 30-all, which Korda loses after netting a short backhand. Break point. Hurkacz is in position for a forehand pass down the line, but curls it just wide. That was a bit of a break for Korda. He reaches advantage with a service winner, but it’s back to deuce when he nets a short forehand. That’s his second bad error this game. Korda’s living dangerously, he serves well to get to game point again but Hurkacz drags him back to deuce by outlasting him in a long slice rally. The Pole returns well, clubbing an inside-out backhand that forces Korda to miss a running forehand. Break point #2. Under no pressure, Korda nets a forehand, and he’s lost a fourth game in a row.
Hurkacz wins the first set 6-3!
Hurkacz comes to net and is passed cleanly by a beautiful crosscourt backhand from Korda. He then badly nets a backhand for love-30. A timely service winner follows; Hurkacz has a lot of momentum and would lose it all by being broken in this game. Korda is bossing the next rally, but pulls a backhand well wide after Hurkacz does well to stay in the point. It’s set point after a huge serve, but Korda claws back to deuce, setting up an overhead volley with a brutal return followed by a fierce forehand. Hurkacz serves well again, forcing the return error with a big wide delivery. Set point #2, and this time Hurkacz converts as Korda sends a forehand wide.
As Hurkacz’s level rose during the first set, Korda’s seemed to dip. He crashed two short groundstrokes into the net from near the service line, one off each wing. Errors are coming off his racket too early in rallies; he should consider aiming a bit closer to the middle of the court and perhaps coming to net more since his sustained offense from the back of the court has been unreliable. Once Hurkacz stopped missing backhands so frequently, Korda had to work much harder to win points.
Second set: Hurkacz 0-1 Korda
Korda begins the second set with a service winner, then Hurkacz misses a backhand. The Pole makes it 30-all with a forceful forehand after a Korda error, though. Korda fights off the early pressure with a good serve out wide, then launches a deep barrage of backhands that ends with Hurkacz netting.
Hurkacz 1-1 Korda
Hurkacz powers a heavy serve out wide for 15-love. He’s served very well since the middle of the first set. He wins a long rally that ends with Korda sending a forehand wide — the American crouches after the point, stretching his legs. This hasn’t been a particularly physical match so far, so this could be a sign of injury. Hurkacz sails a slice wide, then nets a backhand, so Korda has a sniff at 30-all. Hurkacz has a game point when Korda shanks a backhand, which he promptly takes with an ace. A chance missed from Korda there.
Hurkacz 1-2 Korda
A great rally kicks off this game — Korda makes a fine defensive get off an angled forehand, but misses the next ball to fall behind love-15. A one-two punch makes it 15-all, but Korda crouches and stretches again after the point. Hurkacz smartly decides to make his struggling opponent run to return a drop shot and benefits from a net cord that makes the dropper unreturnable. Korda fires a clutch service winner for 30-all. Hurkacz then misfires from the baseline, a bad error at this stage of the match. His goal should be to keep the ball in play and make Korda move around if possible. But Hurkacz swipes a forehand into the bottom of the net and Korda holds to 30. And the trainer is on.
Korda’s left thigh is being worked on. To my eyes, he hasn’t been playing worse than he did at the end of the first set, but if he’s struggling physically, shortening the rallies or even mixing in a serve-and-volley could be beneficial. His main problem in the points seems to be focusing his power enough to push Hurkacz around while maintaining enough margin for error so as not to make errors when on top of a point.
Hurkacz 2-2 Korda
Korda returns to the baseline after a five-minute medical timeout (he appears to be walking with a slight limp). Play resumes with Hurkacz serving at 1-2. He begins with an unreturned serve. At 15-love, Korda attacks, clubbing a deep crosscourt forehand and then directing a backhand to the opposite corner that forces the error. Hurkacz slams another service winner; he’s getting at least one or two free points off his serve per game now. Korda nets a slice, then tries to get out of the way of a body serve and misses it completely.
Hurkacz 3-2 Korda
Korda does a better job of sustaining his offensive groundstrokes on the opening point of this game, heavy forehands eventually leading to a Hurkacz miss. Korda nets a slice for 15-all, then gives up another cheap point with a double fault. Hurkacz launches a very deep return; Korda swings a forehand well wide. He swats the air with frustration. Two break points, and again Hurkacz takes the first as Korda sends a backhand long.
The injury seems to be bothering Korda between points, but I’m not sure it’s significantly hampering him when the ball is in play. He’s just making more errors. Down a set and a break, it makes even more sense for him to rush the net, especially if he’s hurting badly.
Hurkacz 4-2 Korda
A net cord from Hurkacz sends Korda sprinting forward, and he wins the point with a stretch volley. Love-15. But Hurkacz sends the big serves raining down yet again; two service winners and an ace make it 40-15 quickly. Korda pulls back one point, but he doubles over yet again with his hands on his knees after Hurkacz hits long. It’s deuce after a great forehand pass from the American, though! He makes a good sliding retrieval, then nails the pass. Hurkacz serves and volleys after a second serve, knocking a point-winning volley. Another service winner seals an important hold. He’s serving spectacularly.
Hurkacz 4-3 Korda
Korda finds a line-kissing backhand down the line winner, then forces an error with a firm forehand down the line. Two assertive points. He slices a deep approach at 30-love and Hurkacz nets his passing shot. Korda holds to love with a huge serve. That was his best game in a while. If he holds on to his serve, he’ll get two more chances to break Hurkacz.
Hurkacz 5-3 Korda
Hurkacz is somehow maintaining his great serving. His umpteenth service winner followed by a crushing overhead make it 30-love in short order. A Korda return sails long. Hurkacz nets a drop shot, but he’s serving in the high seventies. He holds with yet another service winner. Three of the four points he won that game were thanks to unreturned serves.
Hurkacz wins the Delray Beach Open by beating Korda 6-3, 6-3!
Korda bends a pretty forehand winner crosscourt for 15-love. Hurkacz hits long on the next point, but Korda delivers back-to-back double faults (his fourth and fifth) and is two points from losing the match at 30-all. Hurkacz does well to survive some heavy crosscourt backhands, Korda makes the error, and it’s match point. And Hurkacz’s lob on the run finds the back of the court for a winner!
Post-match thoughts
As far as finals go, this one wasn’t particularly enthralling. Once Hurkacz won the first set, his serving ascended from good to spectacular until he was consistently hitting two or three unreturned serves in each service game. Korda should be able to walk away with several positives in mind, however. He begun the match assertively, looking comfortably the better player until 3-1. His losing the first set in the fashion that he did (losing five games in a row) was as much due to his own lapses as it was to Hurkacz’s improved play. The two missed game points at 3-4 in the first set will likely haunt him the most among his mistakes in today’s match. Korda is just 20 years old and it goes without saying that he will soon be a part of even bigger matches.
Hurkacz put on a serving masterclass in the second set, hitting a staggering 12 unreturned serves (three games’ worth). He was taken to deuce just once in that frame, facing zero break points. In fact, the opening game of the match was the only game in which Hurkacz faced a break point. This is his second ATP title, he is just outside the top 30, and being seeded at the majors is well within his reach. His strong serving and impressive defense vaguely resembles the game of Daniil Medvedev. Like Korda, he will soon take part in bigger matches than today’s.
Thanks for reading and/or following along!