Hurkacz squanders two match points and exits ATP 1000 Montreal to Van de Zandschulp

Match flow and missed chances

Hubert Hurkacz began his third-round match at the ATP 1000 tournament in Montreal with confidence, breaking Botic van de Zandschulp in the fourth game and taking the first set 6:3 behind five aces. The second set looked to be going the same way when the Pole recovered from an early break to lead 4:2, but the finish line slipped away. Hurkacz held two match points yet could not convert either, allowing Van de Zandschulp to force a tie-break, which the Dutchman won 7-4 to level the match.

The deciding set stayed on serve through the middle stretch before Van de Zandschulp broke late to close it out 7:5. Hurkacz finished the contest with 10 aces but could not find the crucial return game when it mattered. The entire encounter lasted close to three hours.

Comeback from injury cut short

The Montreal tournament was Hurkacz's first appearance on court after a one-month absence caused by an injury he sustained on 5 July during his Wimbledon fourth-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff. Entering the draw with a protected ranking, the Pole navigated the opening rounds without incident. He beat American Marcos Giron 7:5, 4:6, 6:2 in the first round, then defeated 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile 6:4, 7:6 (7-4) in the second to reach the last 32.

Van de Zandschulp's upset run

Ranked 70th in the world, Van de Zandschulp arrived in the third round on the back of his own upset, having eliminated sixth-ranked Daniil Medvedev on Thursday. The Dutchman has a track record of surprises on North American hard courts, with past wins over Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open and Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells cited in the coverage. He also owns a previous victory over Hurkacz, a five-set marathon at Roland Garros in 2021.

Prize money and next steps

Hurkacz's two wins in Montreal earned him $61,865, roughly 230,000 zloty. Van de Zandschulp's advancement to the fourth round increased his prize to $105,720. The tournament champion will collect $1,151,380, about 4.3 million zloty.

Hurkacz (R3 exit)61,865

Van de Zandschulp (R4)105,720

Tournament winner1,151,380

Hurkacz (R3 exit)

61865 $

Van de Zandschulp (R4)

105720 $

Tournament winner

1151380 $

Data from the article text

Van de Zandschulp will play the winner of Terence Atmane versus Jakub Mensik for a place in the quarter-finals, with that match scheduled for midnight Polish time on Friday night. Hurkacz's next planned stop is the ATP tournament in Cincinnati, running from 10 to 16 August.