Top seed Hubert Hurkacz beat Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-3 7-6 (7-4) after 90 minutes in the final of the Open 13 in Marseille to clinch the sixth ATP Tour title of his career and the first since Halle last June.
He improved his finals record to 6-1 in his first title match since losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in Montreal last August. Hurkacz has scored straight set wins in his last five finals victories,
Hurkacz hit 19 aces against one double fault and won 41 of his 44 first serve points. He fended off three of four break points.
He earned two break points in the fourth game of the first set. The Pole hit a two-handed return right off the baseline to earn his first break for 3-1. He held serve to love to back up the break for 4-1. Bonzi pulled back on serve in the seventh game with a backhand down the line for 3-4. Hurkacz earned his third break in the eighth game after the longest exchange of the match to open up a 5-3 lead. The top seed fired his fifth ace to earn a double set point and sealed the opening set with a drive volley winner after 32 minutes. Hurkacz hit five aces and won 12 of 13 first serve points in the opening set.
Bonzi saved two break points in the seventh game of the second set before holding serve with a smash to take a 4-3 lead. Hurkacz hit a forehand right off the baseline at 15-30 in the eighth game to hold serve for 4-4.
Bonzi went up 0-30 on Hurkacz’s serve in the 10th game. Hurkacz hit two aces to hold serve for 5-5. Bonzi earned a set point in the 12th game at 5-6. Hurkacz fired a forehand winner into the corner to save the first set point.
Hurkacz fired an ace out wide to save the second set point. Bonzi earned the third set point but Hurkacz saved it and hit a serve winner to force the third set to the tie-break.
Hurkacz earned his only mini-break on the first point as Bonzi hit his forehand into the net. The Polish player extended his lead to 4-2 and hit a forehand volley for 5-2. He earned two championship points with successive volleys and sealed the tie-break 7-4 when Bonzi sent his forehand wide to claim his first ATP Tour title in 2023.
The 2021 Miami Open champion ended the Marseille tournament with 72 aces. He beat Leandro Riedi and Mikael Ymer in the first two rounds before beating Alexander Bublik 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in the semifinal.
Hurkacz has improved his win-loss record to 10-4 this year.
“I am super happy today. Congratulatios to Benjamin today. He deserved to win the second set. I just tried to compete as hard as I can. He has been playing really well this year. For sure he is going to get a title very soon. I think my game is getting better. I am super happy with the way I played today. I was able to come up with some good shots and good serves in the important moments, so I am really happy with that”, said Hurkacz.
Hurkacz will face against this week’s Doha finalist Andy Murray in the opening round in Dubai next week.
Hurkacz won the second indoor hard-court title of his career following his triumph in Metz in 2021.
Bonzi will rise 15 spots to world number 45 in the ATP Ranking.
“It was a good week. Unfortunately, today was not the win. He was playing very well. He was serving too good for me. I tried to put pressure on the second set to go to a decider and see what happens, bu he was too strong. It was still a good week with many things to remember and to improve, so we will see in the next tournament”, said Bonzi.
Hurkacz beat Bonzi in their only previous head-to-head match at a 2018 ATP Challenger tournament in Brest.
