Tennis News: Hubert Hurkacz is currently a little out of reach for an ATP Finals spot, but he’s showing he wants to change that.

The tennis player who sits ninth in the ATP Race to Turin rankings must do his best to beat young British tennis player Jack Draper 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 in order to qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Open. in Antwerp, Belgium.

Currently, the Polish tennis player is 295 points behind Felix Auger Aliassime who is in seventh place in the standings. He could close the gap if he goes further at this week’s European Open, where the Canadian is also competing in the 250-level ATP tournament.

For a moment it looked like the first seed was in perfect control of the game against southpaw Draper as he led by a set and a break, but the Brit fought for a set level.

In the end, Hurkacz’s 22 aces were too much for Draper to overcome and the first seed won the second round after 2 hours 40 minutes.

Hurkacz awaits sixth seed Francisco Cerundolo or former world number 3 Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.

Austria’s Thiem continued his impressive form by beating local player Michael Geerts 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of the European Open.

In dominant form, the 29-year-old Thiem hit 18 game-winning points and won 86% of his first serve points defending after 71 minutes. The tennis player, who made his debut for Antwerp this week, advanced to the semi-finals of the Gijon Open last week.

In other action, Draper’s compatriot Dan Evans wasted no time in advancing to the European Open quarter-finals after beating Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-1.

Fifth-seeded Evans appeared to be in full control of a game that lasted 75 minutes, which included winning 82% of his first service points and breaking Lestienne five times to claim his 27th win of the 2022 season.

Now Evans is 2-0 in their head to head after also winning their previous meeting in San Diego this season.

One place between Evans and a place in the semis is second seed Auger Aliassime or Frenchman Manuel Guinard who beat compatriot Geoffrey Blancaneaux 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Article tags: Tennis, European Open, Hubert Hurkacz, jack draper, Dan Evans, Dominique Thiem

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