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Hubert Hurkacz vs Cristian Garin: ATP Estoril – semifinal
Two players in their prime will face each other in the semifinals of ATP Estoril.
Hubert Hurkacz Profile
Hubert Hurkacz is tenth in the ATP rankings, two spots lower than his career high. The Polish are 17-8 for the season, including 2-0 on clay courts.
In the previous two matches in Estoril, Hurkacz defeated Pablo Llamas Ruiz and Jan Choinski, both 7-6, 6-4.
This is the second semifinal of the season for Hurkacz after he made it to the same phase in Marseille, where he lost to Ugo Humbert.
He had a solid performance at the Australian Open, reaching the quarterfinal, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
Cristian Garin Profile
Cristian Garin is 112th in the ATP rankings, way lower than his career-high No. 17 in the world. The Chilean is 88 for the season and 6-5 on clay courts.
He is coming off a 6-2, 7-6 win over Nuno Borges in the quarterfinal. Previously, Garin went past Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Henrique Rocha.
Last week, he reached the quarterfinals of the Girona Challenger, where he lost to Benjamin Hassan.
Earlier in the season, Garin did not win more than one match in the main draw of any tournament.
Head-to-Head Garin leads 1-0
- Garin vs Hurkacz 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 (2018 Wimbledon, third qualifying round)
Prediction and Conclusion
This will be an interesting match between two players of similar age and different paths to this semifinal. Hurkacz has been in the top 10 for a while now and has had a solid week in Estoril, even though he had no significant success on clay courts. Garin prefers this surface, and this is his first semifinal of the season. The Chilean barely made it off the first round, needing the third-set tiebreak. This is a rare chance for Garin to get back into the top 100, which will make a lot of difference for the rest of the clay court season. However, Hurkacz is playing on a higher level, and his serve will be enough to win this match in straight sets.
