The Polish tennis player entered the match as an Australian qualifier and was 334 places lower than Hurkacz in the ATP rankings as the iron favorite. However, in the first set, he faced strong resistance from his opponent. Although Jasica from Wrocław didn't have much to say on her serve, she also won the ships with her serve quite confidently and didn't give her opponent a chance to break. Gemma number nine, on the serve of our representative, even started with a 30-0 advantage, but the Pole quickly got out of these small difficulties and won the next four rallies.
1. What happened to Tsitsipa?! A spectacular action by the Greek, he played in the opponent's half
The set, as often happens in matches involving Hurkac, was decided by a tie-break. The winner of last year's tournament in Shanghai started with a 4-1 lead. Jasika managed to level the score at 4-4 to the delight of the Australian crowd, but the last three balls belonged to the Polish player who won 7-4 and the entire first half of the match 7-6.
At the start of the second half, the 26-year-old from Melbourne got even bolder. In the fourth game, he went from 0-40 to 40-40, and shortly after he even had his first break point of the match. Hurkac defended himself with excellent services – after two aces in a row, he leveled the set 2:2.
The ninth game was decisive for the fate of the second set, in which the Polish player finally had two break opportunities. She had already used the first with an accurate forehand down the line, giving Jasica no chance to respond. In the next game, Hurkac served with no problems, winning the set 6:4 and taking a 2:0 lead throughout the match.
In the third set, the representative of the hosts clearly weakened. Tired of the hardships of the match, he moved faster and faster on the court and made more and more mistakes. Hurkac broke early, then broke again and took a comfortable 5:1 lead. A few minutes later, he closed the set 6-2 and won the match 3-0.
In the second round, Hurkac will face another player who qualified for the main tournament – Jakub Mensik. The 18-year-old Czech, a 2022 junior Australian Open finalist, defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in the first match.
The 26-year-old Wroclaw's best result so far on the Melbourne courts is the fourth round – at this stage of the tournament he reached last year. He lost the quarterfinal battle in five sets to the American Sebastian Korda.
Iga Švičtek will play his first round on Tuesday. On Tuesday, at 2 o'clock Polish time, the match between the leader of the WTA ranking and the winner of the 2020 Australian Grand Slam tournament, American Sofia Kenin, will begin.
Australian Open 2024, first round
Hubert Hurkacz (Poland, 9) – Omar Jasika 7:6 (7-4), 6:4, 6:2
GW, Polsat Sport