Australian Open 2025: 25 favorites to watch out for | No. 18, Men's Singles

Hubert Hurkacz is up next at No. 18 on the list of men's singles title favorites at the Australian Open 2025. An injury derailed what was shaping up to be a strong outing for the Pole this year. He started off by playing a key role in Poland's push to the final of the United Cup.

However, Hurkacz flubbed a couple of championship points during his singles tie against Alexander Zverev in the final, which cost them the title. He overcame that disappointment with his first-ever quarterfinal at the Australian Open. He continued to tread new ground with a title at the Estoril Open, his first on clay.

Hurkacz also advanced to the last eight at the Italian Open and the fourth round of the French Open. He got ready for Wimbledon with a runner-up finish in Halle, losing to the in-form Jannik Sinner in the final. He then sustained a knee injury during his second-round match at Wimbledon and had to retire from his match in the fourth set.

This injury also forced Hurkacz to withdraw from the Paris Olympics at the last minute. While he did reach a couple of Masters 1000 quarterfinals upon his return, he crashed out in the second round of the US Open. He won one match across his next two tournaments and finished the season with a 40-19 record and ranked No. 16, his first finish outside the top 20 since 2020.

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Hubert Hurkacz will aim to continue improving his record at the Australian Open

Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Hubert Hurkacz didn't have the best start to his Australian Open journey and notched up only two wins from his first four attempts. He advanced to the fourth round for the first time last year and went a step further at this year's edition, where he fell to Daniil Medvedev.

Hurkacz's previous, and so far only, semifinal appearance at a Major was at Wimbledon 2021. He knows what it takes to make a deep run, and has underperformed at the Majors thus far compared to the level of talent he has.

The Pole seems to be in a mood to rectify that and already made a big move at the start of the off-season. He hired Nicolas Massu, who coached Dominic Thiem to his only Grand Slam title at the US Open 2020 and also added Ivan Lendl to his team as an advisor.

Lendl also helped Andy Murray win all three of his Major titles. Both of them could help him make the necessary changes to his game that could take his career to the next level. With two all-star players in his corner as a coach, Hurkacz could certainly make a splash at the Australian Open 2025.

To view the previous entry in this list, click here.