Hurkacz claims maiden title at Winston-Salem Open
Hubert Hurkacz made Polish history as the third seed stunned Benoit Paire 6-3 3-6 6-3 at the ATP 250 tournament in North Carolina.
Hubert Hurkacz, Rome 2020
Hubert Hurkacz lifted his first ATP trophy after upstaging top seed Benoit Paire in the final of the Winston-Salem Open.
Hurkacz made Polish history as the third seed stunned Paire 6-3 3-6 6-3 at the ATP 250 tournament in North Carolina on Saturday.
The 22-year-old became the first Pole to win a tour-level title since Wojtek Fibak in 1982 after breaking serve on five occasions against Paire.
Contesting his first ATP final, Hurkacz defeated four consecutive seeded opponents to celebrate a maiden trophy following wins over 16th seed Feliciano Lopez, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe and second seed Denis Shapovalov before trumping Paire.
A moment to remember for @HubertHurkacz!
The first Polish ATP Tour-level winner since Wojtek Fibak in 1982
: @TennisTV | @WSOpen pic.twitter.com/CQS9JKBsOq
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 24, 2019
Hurkacz, who withstood a brief rain delay in the decider, will now head into the US Open with confidence.
He will open his Flushing Meadows campaign against another Frenchman – Jeremy Chardy – while Paire is set to face Brayden Schnur.
