	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATP CUP

January 8, 2020

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Team Poland - 2

Team Austria - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I'm sure you guys are happy to get a tie win today. How happy are you, Marcin, just with the whole experience here at the ATP Cup?
MARCIN MATKOWSKI: Well, I think it was great for us. It was a whole great week, great week of preparation before that.

We finish on a very high note beating great Austrian team. Obviously Hubert playing great tennis throughout the three matches. He was holding us in every tie.

Today he's winning as Dominic is one of the best wins you can have. Dominic is one of the best tennis players in the world, and today Hubert came on top.

Obviously we were very happy about the way Kacper performed after unfortunately Kamil got injured, and I think he just took his chance, played a great match today. He beat a very solid player, Dennis Novak, who beat Pella two nights before.

I think we are very happy. The experience was great. I hope Polish team comes back here and we will be at least in the quarterfinal. Because the team we have, we have great potential to be a very successful nation in the future.

Q. Over the past couple years, Hubie's climbed the rankings pretty quickly. Obviously this week he earned three wins against three of the best players in the world. So how happy are you to see someone from Poland flying the flag like that for you guys?
MARCIN MATKOWSKI: Well, it's great, you know. Like obviously I know Hubert five years. I met him obviously from Davis Cup where we played together there.

I see his improvement grow from the tennis court. I mean, last year he made a huge step, but this year he's even much better. He had a great preparation with his coach, Craig, in the States. I think we can all see the results already.

His confidence, his movement, his strokes on the court are world class. He's very calm under pressure and having showed that, I think, in his three matches. Well, you know, and hopefully -- he's now 30, but I don't want to predict what number he's going to be at the end of the year, but he has a great future ahead of him.

Q. Now, what about the event in particular did you enjoy? Were there any of the innovations that you liked a lot?
MARCIN MATKOWSKI: I think I like the chemistry of the team and the corner team bench. I think it was great.

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, that bench was great.

MARCIN MATKOWSKI: Obviously with the new iPads on the court when you can check stats is very helpful, too. I think the VAR system is great. It gives the player, I would say, confidence that he can challenge the judgment of the umpire, whereas in the future I was part of few ties myself that you were not convinced that the umpire was right.

Here you have every chance to challenge. And I think Hubert was one of the first players to successfully challenge the umpire with a point. So it was great for us.

The whole tie, you know, the whole tournament and the atmosphere is great. I mean, everybody loves playing for the country, and you see the support of the bench and the chemistry.

HUBERT HURKACZ: And the Polish people coming here, watching us, that was really great for us. That built up the atmosphere that was on the center court.

So, I mean, we really enjoyed playing there.

Q. How special do you think it is for people back home to see you compete as well as you did against these players?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, I hope that they are happy with my performance. I mean, Kacper was playing amazing today, so I'm very happy for him.

I mean, there are just couple of chances for these guys from Poland like Kacper to play such a good match and such a big tournament.

So, I mean, I'm happy for him. I mean, hopefully Kam is going to be soon ready to compete at his best, but, I mean, is really pretty great experience for us.

Q. I know of course today in the doubles match you had an unfortunate moment, but overall you obviously played great tennis all week. And after being with CB during the off-season, how much confidence does it give you heading into the new year that you played this well already?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, he gives me a lot of confidence. Obviously before the first tournament of the year you're a little bit unsure of how you're going to play, how you're going to compete. I think I started very well.

So, I mean, now we can only improve that game and hopefully get better every day.

Q. Do you have any particular goals moving on for the rest of the season? Because of course a couple years ago you were in Milan. Then you climbed further. Now inside top 50. What are your sort of thoughts on that?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, I just want to improve my game, be happy with myself on the court, keeping positive. And then the things can happen when I'm playing, being positive and playing well.

Q. As Marcin mentioned, I know you knew him before this experience, but what was it like spending time with him and the rest of the Polish team?
HUBERT HURKACZ: I mean, Marcin is a great guy. I mean, that's why he's the captain. If he wasn't a great guy he wouldn't be the captain (smiling).

No, Marcin, his experience, being so many years on tour, is one of the most experienced players that we ever had in Poland. So, I mean, he brings this experience plus being very nice, optimistic, just pumping us up before the matches and keeping the good atmosphere.

So I think the whole team, all the players, Kamil, Lukasz, Wojciech, and Kacper, plus the coaches, plus all the coaches, we are very happy being here and we are building a great atmosphere. So that adds a lot to the event.

Q. Was there anything, like I asked Marcin, was it the team zone? What in particular did you enjoy about the event?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, I love the bench, how it was set up during the competition. I mean, plus just the whole atmosphere, the whole experience of it was really great.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297

ATP CUP

January 8, 2020

Marcin Matkowski

Hubert Hurkacz