AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2024

Hubert Hurkacz

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/H. Hurkacz

7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Bad luck, Hubi. Great intensity throughout the match. What do you think made the difference in the end?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, I mean, Daniil is such a great player, great competitor. Obviously I wish I played a little bit better, but, you know, he played some really good points in important moments. So it was a really close battle out there, the couple of hours we played.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Great effort. When Daniil came in, when he served and volleyed in that last game, I think came in the point before, were you surprised? What was your reaction to seeing that? He does it so rarely.

HUBERT HURKACZ: I mean, yeah, obviously he doesn't do it that often, but, you know, he managed to hit a good serve, so, I mean, I just tried to pass him then (smiling).

Q. Can you talk about your run this deep at the Australian Open 2024, reflect on the fortnight. I think you're hitting a career high of No. 8 come Monday.

HUBERT HURKACZ: I would say I played a good couple of matches here. It's always nice to play matches in Australia. I wish I could have gone a little bit further, but still, you know, I gave it all today. It wasn't enough.

Get back to work, and then, yeah. But it was definitely, you know, fun to play in front of Australian fans. Good I was able to manage a couple of victories here.

Q. What do you take away from these four weeks that you've been here when you started with United Cup and had quite a few matches there, and then the number of matches that you've had here?

HUBERT HURKACZ: I would say there's definitely a lot of positives. You know, there are definitely like improvements in certain aspects, I think. So definitely know we're gonna take that as a team and definitely there are things still to improve. So we'll just keep pushing.

I would say we're on a good path, so just hope to keep improving and getting better.

Q. You say you're on a good path. The numbers don't lie. You're steadily going up and up and up. What do you think is making the difference? Are there certain changes that you've made, certain things that you're trying now that you're doing differently or learning from the past?

HUBERT HURKACZ: I would say just definitely know I got a lot of experience from that, from the past matches. But as well just trying, you know, to keep practicing, you know, keep getting better and just trusting the process, you know, learning, understanding myself as well better on the court and then trying to use my skills better.

Q. Obviously it was such a close match and just short of four hours of play. Is this a result that sits with you? You're obviously very disappointed with the end result, but would you get over this one relatively soon, or you'll sort of have it in your mind for a bit?

HUBERT HURKACZ: We'll let you know sooner or later. (Laughter.) So I don't know yet. I mean, definitely, you know, it was a battle today, and yeah, just disappointing, because was just couple of points here and there.

Q. You're going to reach I think world No. 8 on Monday. Do you have a ranking goal this year? Are you trying to hit the top 5, World No. 1?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, I mean, just at the end, like, the rankings showing how you're performing. Obviously I'd like to win some titles and get better at the Grand Slams.

I mean, obviously you always are striving to be the best.

Q. I don't know how you were feeling inside, but in that fifth set and down in the final few games, it looked like you could have played another two or three sets. You looked very alive. You're moving well, all those things. Have you been working very hard on your conditioning?

HUBERT HURKACZ: Yeah, I mean, definitely, yeah, I work really hard. So, you know, physically, tennis-wise, definitely put in a lot of hours. I'm ready for those kind of matches.