Hubert Hurkacz makes his second Masters 1000 final with a comeback win over Casper Ruud

After Hubert Hurkacz went down a set and a break in his National Bank Open semifinal in Montreal, his coach, Craig Boynton, had a few simple words. “Just have to fight. You know what’s going on,” Boynton said, taking advantage of the ATP Tour’s new rule permitting mid-match coaching from the stands.

Whether it was the pep talk or his opponent’s nosediving serve stats, Hurkacz looked like a different player for the second half of the match. He won 10 of 12 games while cruising past Casper Ruud, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Hurkacz jumped out to a 3-0 lead In the first set before Ruud stormed back behind some stellar serving. It was a performance from the stripe that many would have expected from Hurkacz, the bigger bomber. The No. 6 seed from Norway put in 75 percent of his first serves to his opponent's 60 percent, and Hurkacz managed to win only one of those 17 points while Ruud controlled the court with nine forehand winners.

“Casper was playing really incredible tennis and he was the better player at the beginning,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “I was trying to stay in the game and hold on to compete as good as I can.”

Hurkacz’s flat play continued as he dropped serve at love to open the second set. Boyton’s advice wasn’t specific or technical, but the no-nonsense commentary did the trick. The world No. 10 broke right back, let a big roar fly, and didn't look back. He cleaned up his errors and stepped up his aggression to take advantage of a lull in Ruud's level. Ruud's first serve fell off to 55 percent and let Hurkacz control the rallies. Hurkacz hit 17 winners to Ruud’s 10, only two of which came from his stronger forehand wing.

Hurkacz raced to a 4-0 lead in the third set, found his way to the net often, and remained steady as Ruud tried to recover his earlier form. Despite serving at only 53 percent for the match, the No. 8 seed eased into the final at the two-hour mark.

Hurkacz is going for his second Masters 1000s title. He won the 2021 Miami Open, his only final at the Masters 1000 level until this week. He will be the favorite in Sunday's final against either Pablo Carreno Busta or Dan Evans, both unseeded and seeking their first Masters 1000 final.

Hurkacz’s day wasn’t over, though. He still had a doubles semifinal to play in the evening with countryman Jan Zielinski. Still, he will be fresher than one of the opponents—Evans, who will have less rest than Hurkacz before facing him and Zielinski with Australian John Peers.

Despite the disappointing loss, Ruud, who was playing his first hard-court Masters 1000 semifinal, will return to the Top 5 next week, and he is riding high from Thursday's announcement that he will play for Team Europe in next month’s Laver Cup. Ruud will make his Cup debut on a powerhouse roster with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas.