Inspired by Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz Hopes he too Can Inspire Polish Youth

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday April 4, 2021

Hubert Hurkacz became the first Polish man to win a Masters 1000 singles title with his 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Jannik Sinner on Sunday at the Miami Open, and the 24-year-old, who will rise to No.16 in the world on Monday, says that he continues to be inspired by Iga Swiatek’s Roland-Garros title in 2020.

“I mean, like I was super proud of Iga,” Hurkacz told reporters in his virtual press conference after the final on Sunday. “What she has done there in French Open was amazing. I think that gave the belief for us, for me, myself, and the younger players in Poland that it’s possible to win those big titles.”

Swiatek was an absolute tour de force in Paris last year. She didn’t drop a set and became the youngest French Open champion in 28 years. Her victory has inspired millions in her home country and Hurkacz hopes he can also inspire the Polish.

“I mean, hopefully like with my game, I can also like inspire some people in Poland and hopefully they enjoyed it there. Yeah, I’m super, super proud to be Polish, and I’m thankful for all the support that I get.”

Confidence Growing with Biggest Win

Asked if his Miami Open appearance was the best tennis he had ever produced, Hurkacz was quick to agree.

“I played [some] of the best tennis I ever played,” he said. “I was solid throughout the whole tournament, and I was able to get through each round, was even more pumped for the next round. So I think that’s something special for me. Yeah, my tennis is getting better. I mean, we work hard with my coach, and super happy that it happened here. Like, yeah, we still need to improve couple of things and just try to get better each day.”

Hurkacz has talked about the fact that confidence is helping him bring his best tennis out. It was obvious throughout the week that he was more comfortable imposing himself on top players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, and again in the final.

“Winning the tournament like this like gives you extra, I think, like motivation and self-confidence that, ‘Okay, like, you’re able to do it, like you came through like some really like hard moments.’” He said.

Much like his good friend and sometimes double partner Jannik Sinner, Hurkacz says that he is hoping to continue to improve as the season progresses.

“I will just try to still get better each day and try to work on things with CB (his coach Craig Boynton) to be a better player, better competitor,” he said. “I will focus on the step that we’re doing, so we are just trying to improve each day and, yeah, this tournament was the effect of that.”