Andrey Rublev was down but not out on Wednesday in Cincinnati. The Russian rallied for an emphatic 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 comeback victory against former World No. 3 Marin Cilic to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
The last time the Russian star was in Ohio, two years ago, he was No. 70 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and on the mend from injury. He earned one of his biggest wins by upsetting seven-time champion Roger Federer.
Rublev is the fourth seed this edition and is pursuing his best ATP Masters 1000 run. Earlier this season, he advanced to his first semi-final at this level in Miami and his first final in Monte-Carlo.
[FOLLOW 1000]
The 23-year-old has now won four consecutive matches against the Croatian and leads their ATP Head2Head rivalry 4-1. Rublev hit 11 aces and saved four of the five break points he faced to advance after two hours and two minutes.
Next up for the fourth seed will be 14th seed Alex de Minaur or Frenchman Gael Monfils. If Monfils wins that match, it will be his 500th tour-level victory.
Did You Know?
Rublev, who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time last year, began the week in fifth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. This year's season finale will be played in Turin from 14-21 November.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2W6nSIU
No comments:
Post a Comment