Hubert Hurkacz vs Tomas Machac Prediction United Cup Tennis Picks 1/1/25

Hurkacz accounted for Poland's loss, falling in straight sets to Casper Ruud. The match took 21 games to decide.

Hurkacz hit eight aces and landed 69% of first serves. The 27-year-old won 70% of first-serve points (28/40) and 44% of second-serve points (8/18) while saving four of six break points on his serve.

Hurkacz faltered badly on the return, winning a paltry 15 out of 61 points and failing to convert his two break points on the Ruud serve.

But he was bailed out by Iga Swiatek and Jan Zielinski in the mixed doubles match.

The defeat extends Hurkacz's barren run to three matches dating back to last season, with his last match win being a first-round win over Marcos Giron in Tokyo at the end of September.

Tomas Machac Preview

World No. 25 Tomas Machac also lost his singles match against Casper Ruud, but the Czechs won the tie in mixed doubles too.

Machac's defeat was arguably the match of the tournament so far, lasting five minutes shy of three hours.

Ruud won the first set in a dramatic tie-break before Machac secured a break of serve in the 12th game to level the match. A slow start to the third set proved costly for the Czech who was broken twice, but could only retrieve one of the breaks back.

Overall, Machac hit seven aces and an unimpressive 13 double faults.

He landed 63% of first serves and won 71% of first-serve points (50/70), and 41% of second-serve points (17/41).

Machac won 35% of return points (41/116) and converted three of nine break points.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Tomas Machac Head-To-Head

• Hurkacz beat Machac in their only career meeting at the 2024 Marseille Open.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Tomas Machac Prediction

It's a winner-take-all in the group. Poland escaped with a win against Norway. Czechia had a more straightforward win despite being pushed to a deciding mixed doubles.

Hurkacz's post-injury performances and results have been broadly inconsistent and it could be attributed to his struggles with physical endurance and struggles to close out matches in straight sets. Additionally, it's not often that Hurkacz can finish a match and post inferior serving numbers to his opponent, but that's what transpired in his defeat to Ruud.

Six of Hurkacz's last 10 matches have lasted three sets. Worryingly for Hurkacz, he has lost three matches in a row and hasn't won a set in that time. Evidently, there is a crisis in confidence and Machac's quest for another Top 20 win gets a major boost.