Hurkacz battles Shapovalov in Chengdu semifinal after gritty quarterfinal win

Road to the semifinal

Hubert Hurkacz is enjoying a strong run at the ATP 250 tournament in Chengdu, China. He opened the event with a straight-sets win over Alexander Shevchenko, then beat Martin Damm in three sets, before facing South Africa's Lloyd Harris in the quarterfinal.

A tight fight against Harris

The quarterfinal proved to be a battle. According to Polsatsport.pl, the first set alone lasted more than an hour and was decided by a tiebreak, which Hurkacz won 12-10. Sport.pl's live coverage shows that Hurkacz later wasted two match points in the second set before finally closing out the win and booking his semifinal spot.

The semifinal opponent — Shapovalov

Hurkacz's semifinal opponent is Canada's Denis Shapovalov, who reached this stage by beating Tallon Griekspoor and Vit Kopriva, followed by a three-set quarterfinal win over Adrian Mannarino. Sources differ slightly on the players' head-to-head record: Interia Sport reports they have met six times before, with Hurkacz winning five, while Polsatsport.pl says this will be their seventh meeting, with Hurkacz leading 5-1. Per Przegląd Sportowy, Hurkacz currently sits at No. 41 in the ATP rankings, with Shapovalov at No. 46.

How the match unfolded

The semifinal began around 13:00-13:20 local time on Monday. Shapovalov took the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6(8). Early in the second set, trailing 0-1, Hurkacz called for a medical timeout — Interia Sport speculates it may be related to an ankle issue, though this has not been officially confirmed. Hurkacz then rallied, breaking serve to lead 2-1 in the second set. According to Przegląd Sportowy's live blog, the match went on to a deciding third set, in which Hurkacz built a 3:1 lead after another break of serve.

Context

The winner will face Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 2-1 in sets in the other semifinal.