Rublev Kicks Off 2022 In Style
World No. 6 and four-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Andrey Rublev began his march towards another Grand Slam second week with a straightforward victory over Italy’s Gianluca Mager on Tuesday at the Australian Open. Making his 2022 debut, the Russian blitzed through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
It was a near-perfect start for Rublev, whose clean hitting produced 31 winners to just 13 errors in the one-hour, 24-minute contest. While he dropped serve once on five break points against, the Russian—a quarter-finalist in Melbourne one year ago—broke seven times and never trailed in any of the three sets.
After winning the ATP Cup and Davis Cup with the Russian Tennis Federation in 2021, Rublev was set to begin his ’22 campaign at this year’s ATP Cup before a positive COVID-19 test ruled him out. He said he felt “a bit tired” before Tuesday’s match due to the layoff, but was pleased with his performance on the day.
“Of course I would have preferred to play ATP Cup, to feel already these emotions, the nerves during the match, to feel this winning feeling,” he explained in his on-court interview. “Of course it’s not easy when you’re not playing for a couple of weeks and you go straight into one of the best tournaments.
“You feel a bit double pressure because you don’t know how it’s going to be. But this is life, you cannot control it.”
Mager’s attempt at a comeback peaked with two break points in the opening game of the final set, but two big Rublev serves set up easy second balls as he quelled the danger with ease. He finished the match with 13 aces and an 81 per cent win rate on first serve.
After his speedy win in the day’s second match in Margaret Court Arena, Rublev now awaits the winner of the match between Ricardas Berankis and Roberto Carballes Baena.