Pole Hurkacz lifts maiden title at Winston-Salem Open
Drops a set before overcoming top seed Benoit Paire
Winston-Salem: Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz outduelled top seed Benoit Paire to earn his first ATP title with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win in the Winston-Salem Open final on Saturday.
Hurkacz, 22, steadied himself through a roller coaster affair, which included a brief rain delay after the second set, and came out on top after two hours and nine minutes.
Hurkacz became the first Polish winner of a tour-level event since Wojtek Fibak at WCT Chicago in 1982. That is a lot of time (without a Polish champion). I am so glad that I have been able to win an ATP Tour event” he said.
I hope many more guys will join me soon and that I will win some more. It means a lot to me and I am glad that I won this tournament here.” Hurkacz’s sparkling week included wins against four consecutive seeded opponents.