Two things that stood out in Hubert Hurkacz's QF win over Fabian Marozsan at Shanghai Masters 2023

16th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters on Thursday, October 12. The match lasted for a little less than three hours, as the 26-year-old Pole overcame the talented Hungarian youngster.

Hurkacz is now the second highest-seeded player left in the tournament and will fancy his chances of winning his second Masters 1000 title. The Pole will play against the winner of the second quarterfinal clash between Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton in the last four. His semifinal match will take place on Saturday (October 14).

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1. Marozsan’s crosscourt forehand troubled Hubert Hurkacz in the first set

Fabian Marozsan troubled Hubert Hurkacz with his cross-court forehand on the first set repeatedly. The Hungarian, thus, set up points by pushing the Pole to his forehand corner and then won them with his down-the-line forehand.

Marozsan got an early break in the third game of the first set and then held his serve to take a 3-1 lead. However, Hurkacz then broke back in the eighth game to level the score at 4-4. Still, Marozsan’s powerful down-the-line forehands helped him break the Pole once again to win the set.

---

#2. Hubert Hurkacz countered Marozsan’s touch with his power

It was clear that Fabian Marozsan was the player with the subtler touch. He displayed his elegance with his cross-court forehand and occasional drop shots. However, Hubert Hurkacz made up for his lack of finesse with the power of his serve and groundstrokes.

To make things easier for the Pole, Marozsan rushed the net a few times to hit his volleys into the net. Hurkacz also passed the Hungarian occasionally to take the latter by surprise.

Hurkacz broke Marozsan early in the second set before taking a 4-1 lead. He then broke the Hungarian once again to race through the set. The Pole broke Marozsan again in the third set to assert his supremacy and finish the match off.

Hubert Hurkacz fired 18 aces in the match, while the Hungarian could hit only four. The Pole also won a very impressive 82% of the points on his first serve, while Marozsan won only 61% on his. That proved to be a decisive difference between the two, as Hurkacz deservingly won the match to qualify for the last four.