Halle Open 2022: 3 Factors that stood out in Hubert Hurkacz's win over Daniil Medvedev in the final

Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland beat top seed and World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-1, 6-4 to win the Halle Open title on Sunday. It was Hurkacz’s first career title on grass.

Hurkacz, who beat the great Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year, played superb tennis to dismantle Medvedev on Sunday. The match lasted just over an hour and was Medvedev's second consecutive loss in an ATP final.

On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:

#1 Hurkacz started the match superbly by breaking Medvedev twice

Hurkacz started the match in grand fashion by breaking Medvedev in his first service game. He broke the Russian again in the fourth game to go 4-0 up. Hurkacz then held his serve to win his fifth consecutive game.

The Pole troubled the Russian with his powerful groundstrokes. He hit a few forehand winners and played a number of backhand slices to take pace off the ball. He also made frequent forays into the net to finish points with sumptuous volleys. Some of his backhand volleys were of the highest quality.

#2 Medvedev managed to avoid being bageled in the first set, but Hurkacz won it with aplomb

Medvedev was finally able to hold his serve in the sixth game of the first set to reduce the deficit to 5-1. However, Hurkacz had no problem serving out the first set.

Hurkacz’s powerful serve and well-placed volleys off either wing gave the Russian no chance. Medvedev started coming to the net more frequently as the match progressed, but Hurkacz came up with a few wonderful passing shots.

#3 Medvedev was broken again in the second set as Hurkacz displayed great net skills

Medvedev failed to create a single break-point opportunity in the match

Hurkacz broke Medvedev once again in the first game of the second set and the Russian never recovered from the setback. Neither player lost their serve during the remainder of the match as the Pole raced to his first title at Halle. He finished the match with yet another brilliant backhand volley.

Hurkacz played some exquisite lobs after being dragged into the net by drop shots from the Russian. Medvedev adopted an aggressive approach as the match progressed, but could never break the Pole’s serve. The Russian did not get a single break-point opportunity in the match as Hurkacz won more than 84% of the points off his powerful first serve against Medvedev’s 62%.

Hurkacz hit 24 winners in the match against Medvedev’s 18 and committed only seven unforced errors against Medvedev’s 15.