No matter what Hubert Hurkacz goes on to achieve in his career, for many people his name will for ever be the answer to a quiz question: who beat Roger Federer in his last professional match? Three years ago, Hurkacz’s 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 victory over Federer in the quarter-final at Wimbledon was the end of the road for the Swiss, whose ailing right knee had not recovered well enough from multiple surgeries and would not allow him to continue playing at the top level.
During that match, Federer said later, he knew his knee “was gone” and that “it was over”. Just over a year later, he retired after an emotional farewell at the Laver Cup in London.
For Hurkacz, it was the biggest moment of his career. Playing Federer, the eight-time champion, on Centre Court at Wimbledon, was something he had dreamed of. It was a daunting experience but he rose to the occasion. “Definitely I was stressed beforehand,” Hurkacz says from Monte Carlo, where he lives.
“I was pretty confident in my game at that point, I knew I was playing some good tennis on grass at Wimbledon and especially after beating Daniil [Medvedev] in five sets. I felt I was in a good spot and I was just trying to do my best out there and compete.
“It was stressful but I was also very excited. Growing up as a kid, I was always looking up to Roger, he was my idol. He won so many times at Wimbledon and having a chance to play with him there on this unique court, that was something I always wanted to do.”
Three years on, the 6ft 5in (1.96m) Pole is ranked a career-high No 7 and goes into this year’s Wimbledon as a live contender to reach a first grand slam final or even go one better. One of the few active players to have won titles on clay, grass and indoor and outdoor hard courts, he possesses one of the best serves in the game and his style is perfectly suited to the green stuff, even though he grew up playing indoors on clay, with no heating.
“Grass is definitely my favourite surface,” the 27-year-old says. “In Poland, we didn’t have any grass. We have maybe a few private courts but I wouldn’t compare them to Wimbledon grass. From when I first played junior Wimbledon, I have always looked forward to it. I always want to dive on the grass, try some nice shots. I really enjoy that atmosphere, that feeling of playing on grass.”
Unassuming by nature, it helps Hurkacz that he hails from the same country as the women’s world No 1, Iga Swiatek. With five grand slam titles to her name, Swiatek is a national hero and all the attention, not surprisingly, goes to her. If beating Federer made his name – he is recognised more now and describes people as “super-nice” when they approach him – Hurkacz knows he is fortunate that Swiatek takes the limelight and allows him to just do his thing.
“I don’t need to be here at all, Iga’s winning everything,” he says. “It’s inspiring also off the court how nice she is, what a person she is. It’s really fantastic what she has done. I’m super-happy that we’ll be able to play some mixed doubles in the Olympics, that’s really special.”
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“Hubi”, as he’s known on Tour, has a gentle nature but his serve is venomous. According to Tennis Viz, which monitors the ATP Tour, he is ranked No 2 over the past 52 weeks in serving “effectiveness”, which covers aces, service winners, unreturned serves and being in an attacking position after the serve.
He reached the final last weekend in Halle, only losing to the world No 1, Jannik Sinner, in two tie-breaks, having hit 13 aces in the final and 77 in the tournament. If he clocks up those kinds of numbers at Wimbledon this year, he is likely to take some stopping and maybe create a new quiz question.
“I’m ambitious. I want to win tournaments,” says Hurkacz, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open this year. “I’m really proud of winning on every surface. Hopefully, I could do some good things in the future so I’ll be remembered for more than winning against Roger,” he says, smiling. “But it was just really special to play on the Centre Court with Roger, just to feel the atmosphere. It was crazy loud. I never experienced anything like that before and I am glad I was able to do it.”
