Despite calling Quinn's doubles partner and compatriot Kamil Majchrzak for advice the day before the match, Hurkacz had very few answers for the American as he failed to progress beyond the second round of an Australian Open for the sixth time in eight attempts.
It was Hurkacz's seventh official match in January after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in the second half of 2025 and missing six months of tennis, with his second round elimination a sour end to an otherwise mesmerising comeback that saw him defeat top-ten players Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev in the United Cup earlier this month.
His spirit appeared to have been broken after losing a tightly contested second set tiebreak, in which an aggressive cross-court forehand from Hurkacz went only millimetres wide, prompting the 28-year-old to drop his racket in disbelief.
Hurkacz's exit was wrapped up at warp speed as Quinn lost only two points on his own serve in a 19-minute third set.
“It’s disappointing. It was a big point, an important point," Hurkacz told Flashscore after the match, speaking about the loss of the second set tiebreak.
"I was still fighting and I was trying to make some adjustments in that third set because I knew I wasn’t playing well enough to win the match. Those adjustments made me maybe miss some extra shots.
"He got that important early break in the third and started to play even better after that.”
The world number 55 was on the end of some harsh criticism on social media for a perceived lack of effort and energy in the final set, but insisted that he was "physically feeling quite well" during the Australian Open.
"I’ve played a lot of matches here in Australia. The United Cup had long days, and I had a little bit of a strain in my stomach, but it was okay.
"I mean I couldn’t practice much on a serve issue for the Australian Open but I was nevertheless feeling good today.”
Upon reflection, Hurkacz agreed that there were some positives to take away from his first three weeks back on the court despite Thursday's dispiriting performance and is looking forward to his return in 2027.
"There were definitely some very great and positive moments," he said.
"I’m obviously disappointed with the end. In Melbourne you always want to play your best tennis and it just didn’t happen for me. Things weren’t coming easily for me here in Melbourne in either of those matches and I was trying to fight my best.
"I'm just super happy to be competing again and seeing the amazing fans really means a lot to me.”
