Rublev Races Past Daniel To Belgrade Final Four

The swirling Belgrade wind was not enough to halt the charge of Andrey Rublev at the Serbia Open on Friday afternoon.

The second seed produced a stunning display of forehand hitting to overwhelm Taro Daniel and surge to a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event, setting a last-four meeting with Fabio Fognini in the process.

A cagey opening played out in blustery conditions suggested a tight encounter was in store at the Novak Tennis Center, but Rublev upped his level mid-way through the first set to devastating effect. A stream of scorching winners from the World No. 8’s forehand brought him nine of the final 12 games as he secured a 74-minute win to move within two matches of a third title of 2022.

“I was a bit stressed because the weather was really tough,” said Rublev after the match. “The conditions were so windy, the ball was moving a lot, so I needed to slow down, take more care. I felt I was playing well, I felt like I had control of the ball and I couldn’t take that many risks because of the wind.

“But then with time, I started to adapt, to take the moments when there was not much wind and I started to try to play more aggressive. In the end it worked.”

Japanese qualifier Daniel had posted a pair of impressive main-draw wins to reach the quarter-finals, taking out fifth seed Cristian Garin in straight sets before prevailing in a three-set battle with exciting #NextGenATP talent Holger Rune. Daniel was aiming to match his semi-final run in Belgrade from 2021 but the explosive power of his opponent proved too hot to handle for the World No. 104.

The match was finely poised at 3-3 after a tight start before Rublev put his foot on the gas. The World No. 8 showed real intent behind his groundstrokes, particularly off the forehand wing, to break Daniel twice in a row and seal the first set.

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Rublev was pushed the distance by Jiri Lehecka in his opening match in Belgrade and he appeared keen to avoid another long battle against Daniel. He continued to strike his forehand consistently to race to a 4-1 lead in the second set and it was only some stoic resistance from Daniel that kept the second seed to a solitary break.

Rublev served out to love for a comfortable win as he extended his ATP Head2Head record over Daniel to 2-0. The 24-year-old dropped just 10 points on serve in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, an indication of his dominance in the quarter-final encounter.

With the win, Rublev moves to a 21-5 record for the 2022 season. Only Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas has won more matches this year. Despite that strong record, he is taking nothing for granted ahead of his meeting with sixth seed Fognini on Saturday.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Rublev of the Fognini clash. “Fabi, he’s super talented, he can play amazing and it’s going to be a tough match with a lot of long rallies, so I just need to do my best and we will see what happens.”

Fognini also had to overcome the weather when he moved past Germany’s Oscar Otte with a 7-5, 6-4 win earlier on Friday.

World No. 67 Otte made a strong start to his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final, breaking early to surge to a 5-2 lead over the showstopping Italian, but he could not maintain the momentum as he struggled to cope with the high winds blowing across the centre court at the Novak Tennis Center.

Fognini dug deep to reel off five games in a row to snatch the first set as the conditions posed problems for both players. The Italian kept his cool even when he was behind to ensure the pressure of the occasion told on his opponent, who broke into the Top 100 for the first time in January.

Two breaks in the second set were enough to secure the match for No. 62-ranked Fognini. He never reached his free-flowing best in his first tour-level meeting with Otte, but the variety in the Italian’s game was enough to give him the edge over an opponent who struggled with his serve in the blustery conditions.

Fognini will hope to find his best level when he takes on Rublev in his second semi-final of the season. Eight of the Italian’s nine ATP Tour titles have come on clay, the biggest of which was his 2019 triumph at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. He holds a 5-4 ATP Head2Head series lead over Rublev, but the second seed has won the pair’s past three encounters.

In the other of Saturday’s semi-finals in Belgrade, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will aim to keep his bid for a third title at the ATP 250 event alive when he takes on third seed Karen Khachanov.