Alcaraz Survives Hurkacz Test For Toronto QF Berth

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz overcame a slow start and a dramatic ending Thursday to down 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz and reach the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

The Spaniard rallied past Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to extend his winning streak to 14 matches. Alcaraz held a 5-2 lead in the deciding set and served for the match twice before closing the third-round contest on his fifth match point.

"Honestly, I didn't know what happened," Alcaraz said of his third-set slide. "I started feeling bad at that moment. I couldn't feel the right way in my shots. I didn't know what happened. But what I was thinking was to stay calm, try to find a way to overcome the problems and find the good feeling again. I think at 5-6 serving, I started to feel better.

"The big players have that feeling to find a way to stay alive and try to end the match playing well."

Alcaraz struggled to find his best level early, committing unforced forehand errors as the Pole won the first three games of the match for the loss of just three points. A finalist last year in Montreal, Hurkacz played tight to the baseline and took the ball early to push the World No. 1 throughout the two-hour, 38-minute battle.

Despite being broken in the opening game of the second set, Alcaraz stayed focussed and found greater consistency in extended rallies as Hurkacz's first-serve percentage dropped from 69 per cent to 48.

Alcaraz won 19 consecutive points behind his serve spanning from late in the second set to the third, but struggled to close the match. The two-time major champion had two match points on serve at 5-2 before Hurkacz won four straight games and forced the 12-time tour-level titlist to a tie-break.

"In the tough moments you have to believe in yourself, try to go for it," said Alcaraz, who committed 28 unforced errors to Hurkacz's 48. "It doesn't matter if you win or not. You have to believe you are going to play your best in that moment, try to play aggressive. I think in the two tie-breaks I did pretty well. That's why I got the win."

[ATP APP]

Aiming for his seventh title of the season, Alcaraz improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATPHead2Head series with Hurkacz and will next play 12th seed Tommy Paul, who upset the Spaniard last year in Montreal.

Six-time tour-level titlist Hurkacz was aiming for his second win over a World No. 1. The 26-year-old boasts a 27-17 season record.

The American Paul cruised past countryman Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year and set a third meeting against Alcaraz (1-1). Paul struck 22 winners to Giron's 13 and fended off seven of eight break points faced.