Hurkacz records 40th win of the season to reach second round in Tokyo

Hubert Hurkacz secured his 40th victory of the year and a significant victory in his pursuit of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old polish clawed past American Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 to reach the second round in Tokyo.

The Pole, who is seeded 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin for the ATP 500 hard-court event, will need to improve on his dismal Nitto ATP Finals prospects during the Asian swing.

Hurkacz, making his debut in Asia following his second ATP Masters 1000 victory in Shanghai last year, overcame losing a break advantage against Giron in the second set to progress in a close final that lasted two hours and eight minutes.

Hurkacz is now 665 points behind Alex de Minaur, who is in ninth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Australian, who presently holds the final qualifying berth, is out due to injury.

Hurkacz increased his record against Giron in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 3-0 with his 40th tour-level victory of the year. The second seed hopes to carry on his success in Japan, where he will next take on either Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci or US Open semifinalist Jack Draper.

In other action, Frenchman Ugo Humbert moved past Japanese wild card Shintaro Mochizuki 6-1, 6-2 in 77 minutes. Mochizuki enjoyed a dream run to the semi-finals in Tokyo last year but was unable to match Humbert. The World No. 19 hit 15 winners and saved both break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats to reach the second round.

Humbert has triumphed in two ATP Tour matches thus far this year. In the second round, he will play either seventh seed Frances Tiafoe or past Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion Brandon Nakashima, hoping to secure his third.