Poland's Hubert Hurkacz clinched his second ATP 1000 crown with a pulsating three-set win over Andrey Rublev in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
The 16th seed came up trumps in a gripping tie-breaker to prevail 6-3 3-6 7-6[8] in two hours and six minutes, adding to his maiden Masters crown from the 2021 Miami Open and winning his second title of the year after February's Open 13 success.
Sunday's showpiece was already delicately poised, as Rublev and Hurkacz had two wins apiece from their previous four meetings, although the Russian had triumphed in both of their meetings in 2022.
However, Hurkacz produced a serving masterclass in the opener, losing a mere two points on his first serve and capitalising on a couple of unforced errors from Rublev to earn the crucial break in the sixth game.
Rublev matched the Pole's sensational serving in the second set, though, doubling Hurkacz's aces tally with six compared to three for the 16th seed and storming into a 3-0 lead en route to a deciding third set.
Hurkacz did not fashion a single break point in the second set, but in the ninth game of a closely-fought decider, the Pole brought up his first Championship point on a brilliant forehand, before an overly emotional Rublev lost his cool at a photographer for an apparent distraction.
The umpire was sympathetic towards Rublev, who got away with a talking-to and saved that Championship point prior to a nail-biting tie-breaker, where he agonisingly let a 3-0 lead slip from his grasp.
A handful of match points came and went, before Hurkacz got the job done as Rublev sent one final backhand into the net, condemning himself to a third defeat from four ATP 1000 finals.
Ben Knapton
