Hurkacz edges Kyrgios to make Halle final, faces Medvedev

Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the No 5 seed, moved into the final of Halle by edging out Australian wildcard Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) at the Owl Arena/Gerry-Weber-Stadion on Saturday afternoon.

It was two hours and three minutes of an exciting duel that genuinely could have gone either way.

“It was definitely super-close…he’s such a great player,” Hurkacz said on television afterwards. “I just tried to hit it straight on the return.”

Hurkacz, ranked No 12, will play Russian Daniil Medvedev, the top seed and world No 1, for the title. The pair have a close head-to-head, with Hurkacz notably winning their round of 16 encounter at Wimbledon last year in a five-setter.

The Pole defeated American qualifier Maxime Cressy (6-4, 4-6, 6-4), Frenchman Ugo Humbert (7-6 (5), 6-3) and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No 4 seed (7-6 (2), 7-6 (4)) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Halle Open, Kyrgios, ranked No 65, won against German Daniel Altmaier (6-3, 7-5), Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the second seed (5-7, 6-2, 6-4) and Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, the No 6 seed (6-4, 6-2).

Halle ATP 500, other semi-final result (Owl Arena/Gerry-Weber-Stadion, grass, EUR 2.275.275):

• Daniil Medvedev beat Oscar Otte: 7-6 (3), 6-3