Hubert Hurkacz had little trouble overcoming Daniil Medvedev to win the Halle Open, sending an early warning sign to his Wimbledon competitors.
The Pole downed the world number one 6-1 6-4 to win his first ATP 500 grasscourt tournament in Halle, Germany, and his fifth ATP singles title, keeping his record in finals unblemished with his victory in just over an hour, sealing the win with a backhand winner.
In contrast, it was a fifth straight defeat in a championship match for Medvedev, who has not won a title since denying Novak Djokovic the calendar Grand Slam to win the 2021 U.S. Open for his maiden major triumph.
Medvedev, who will not compete at this year’s Wimbledon came into Sunday’s match having not dropped a set while saving 22 of the 23 break points he faced during his four matches.
But the Russian struggled to get on his serve as Hurkacz jumped to a 5-0 lead twice breaking the Russian.
Medvedev finally held his serve at 1-5 before Hurkacz wrapped up the opening set in just 27 minutes.
The second set brought more frustration for Medvedev as the Pole once again broke serve early, continuing to dominate the rallies.
Medvedev saved two breakpoints to hold serve in the seventh game but could not get the break back with Hurkacz not allowing the Russian a single opportunity on his own delivery during the entire match.
After his win at Halle Open, Hubert Hurkacz set his sight on the grass-court grand slam.
The world number 12 had defeated Medvedev and Roger Federer en route to the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year and showed he will once again be a force to be reckoned with when the Championships kick off on June 27.
