THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2021

Hubert Hurkacz

Press Conference

M. BERRETTINI/H. Hurkacz

6-3, 6-0, 6-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was the experience like being on the Centre Court playing that semifinal? What memories will you take away?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, obviously playing in front of this amazing crowd, this is such a pleasure. I enjoy to play, especially playing semifinal, playing super big match. So super happy to be experiencing that.

Q. Can you tell us about how you think Matteo played compared to how you think he would play this match?

HUBERT HURKACZ: I mean, Matteo played unbelievable match today. Huge congrats to him. I mean, every single service game, he was serving bombs. I didn't have many chances, basically probably zero. So huge congrats for him that he kept, like, such a high level throughout the whole four sets.

I mean, he played really well.

Q. There was that stretch from 3-2 in the first set where he won something like 11 straight games. What was going wrong there for you? What were you struggling with? How did you manage to turn that around?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, Matteo was playing really, really well. I mean, he was putting a lot of pressure on me. My serve, first serve, really wasn't helping me, which usually does and gets me out of trouble. I was struggling with that.

Plus he was putting a lot of pressure on me and he was playing really amazing without doing any unforced errors. So, yeah, I mean, I wasn't playing great at that time, but he was putting a lot of pressure. The first serve wasn't helping me there.

I mean, I was trying to stay competitive and fight for every single point especially at the beginning of the third set to try to make a comeback.

Q. Obviously it can be a lot of emotions getting into your first Grand Slam semifinal. Looking forward, with the decision yesterday in Tokyo not to have any spectators at the Olympic venues, do you think you'll still go to Tokyo? How will you deal with the transition between here and there if you do go?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I didn't hear about it, so yeah, I mean, you're the first person telling me that, that there's no crowd.

Yeah, I mean, I'm super happy to be representing my country in the Olympics. Looking forward to it. Obviously the crowds, the experience that I had here with this unbelievable people supporting, cheering for us, that's special for players.

Q. How would you describe the way Matteo played today and your thoughts on his potential matchups against Djokovic or Shapovalov in the final?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, Matteo played pretty great. I mean, he served bombs. He really didn't do many mistakes throughout the whole four sets. I mean, huge congrats for him. I wish him -- I mean, if he continues to play like this, he has really big chance in the final.