Despite his defeat, the Pole climbs to 39th in the world rankings after being outside the top 50 in January. Hubert Hurkacz, Poland’s top-ranked male tennis player, fell short in the final of the Chengdu Open in China. The closely contested match between Hurkacz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina ended in a 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) victory for the Spaniard, after the Pole failed to convert four set points in the second-set tie-break. The victory marked Davidovich Fokina’s second ATP Tour title, following his first earlier this season in Mallorca. Before that, the Spanish player had lost all five of the ATP finals he had contested. Hurkacz, meanwhile, was contesting his 13th ATP final on the back of a challenging season impacted by a long-term injury. He has been waiting for his ninth career title since April 2024, when he triumphed in the Estoril Open in Portugal. The 29-year-old from Wrocław earned $107,000 for reaching the final in Chengdu and climbed to 39th in the world rankings after being outside the top 50 in January. Hurkacz now has to travel quickly to Beijing, where another tournament, this time an ATP 500 event, begins on Wednesday. His first-round opponent will be American Learner Tien.
The closely contested match between Hurkacz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina ended in victory for the Spaniard. (Getty Images)
