Rublev Below His Best, But Survives In Barcelona
Andrey Rublev worked his way into the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-finals on Thursday, but was far from his best in a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 victory over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas in two hours and 27 minutes.
The third-seeded Russian found a way to record an ATP Tour-best 26th match win of the season, striking 24 of his 35 winners off his forehand wing and clinching 12 of 14 points at the net.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Rublev, who picked up the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title in Rotterdam (d. Fucsovics) last month, will next challenge fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut or No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy on Friday.
Rublev opened up a 4-1 lead in the first set, but let Ramos-Vinolas back in. Groundstroke errors cost the World No. 7 in the second-set tie-break and while he led 4-2 in the decider, Ramos-Vinolas recovered once again. Ramos-Vinolas, this season’s Cordoba Open finalist (l. to J. Cerundolo), could not convert four break points at 4-5 and paid the price as Rublev finished off with a forehand winner.