Hubert Hurkacz close in on title defence after ousting Tomas Machac in Marseille

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz moved closer to a successful title defense at the Open 13 Provence on Marseille on Friday.

The 26-year-old Hubert Hurkacz Polish raced past Czech Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4 in a 62-minutes quarter-final battle winning 28 of his 31 points behind his first delivery to reach the last four at the APT 250 event.

“I was definitely serving well today and that helped me out,” said Hurkacz, who will meet home favourite Ugo Humbert in Saturday’s semi-finals. “I had a couple good return games, but apart from that, I didn’t have many chances… I feel my game has been strong and I’ve constantly been trying to improve things, so I feel confident on the court.”

World No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz, who is a four-time tour-level titlist is riding in a six-match winning streak at indoor hard-court tournaments, having closed the 2023 season with a trophy in Metz and also reaching the last eight at the Australian Open, is the first player to clinch 10 tour-level wins this year.

Hubert Hurkacz is now into the semi-finals in Marseille for the third time and will next look to earn his maiden win versus Hurkacz, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head 3-0, including a four-set victory at last month’s Australian Open.