ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS

October 11, 2023

Hubert Hurkacz

Mixed Zone

H. HURKACZ/Zhang Zhizhen

7-6, 4-6, 7-6

Q. Good to get that win?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, definitely. He played some really incredible tennis throughout the whole match. I think it was a fun battle for me. Yeah, I was trying my best, you know, out there for every single point. I was trying to be ready, and he was coming up with some really incredible shots.

So, definitely, if he continue to play like this he's going to be really close to the top.

Q. Did you feel that you had to manage sort of the occasion as much as the match in some ways? He was obviously playing his home tournament and had had such a great run.

HUBERT HURKACZ: No, I mean, every single match you try to, you know, manage yourself, manage how you play against the opponent. He was playing really some great tennis, and definitely, no, I think home crowd was giving him a lot of support. It was fun to see a lot of people coming and watching. Yeah, definitely, you know, he has great career ahead of him.

Q. Talk about the serve you have today. Are you satisfied?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, I mean, I was a little bit on and off, but fortunately at the end, at the end I was on, so definitely really happy about that. I managed to find a way to hit my serves better towards the end of the match. I definitely needed to, because if I haven't, yeah, it would have been really, really tough. I mean, it was tough, but it would be, yeah, really, really tough.

Q. What's more the key points for winning the game, physical, emotional, or the tactics?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Everything, you know. Yeah, just playing all-out there. I was, yeah, I think, really happy with the way I played the tiebreaker.

Q. Let's talk about your opponent today. Does he give a lot of pressure to you?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Today? My opponent? Yeah.

Q. This is your second time playing against him. How do you feel about this time comparing to your last time?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, it was good couple of years ago, but, yeah, I mean, he improve his game incredibly. Yeah, just really great improvement from his side. If he continues to improve like this, you know, only great results is going to come for him.

Q. What makes super Masters, especially when you lost the second game? What makes super Masters?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Don't understand that question (smiling).

Q. What was it that made you to lose the second set?

HUBERT HURKACZ: What happened? I mean, he played some really great tennis. He played some really amazing tennis.

Q. Could you look ahead to your quarterfinal, what your thoughts are ahead of that match?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, it's going to be a battle. I just need to, you know, sleep well and eat well, and we'll be able to get ready.

Q. You know your next match against, with Fabian, so do you know about him?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, to be honest, I haven't seen him play much, but he just beat, you know, Casper, who is an incredible player, and I think that those conditions were quite decent for Casper, so it's just going to be battle and then we'll leave it all out there.