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Verdasco saves three match points to advance

Andrey Rublev recovered from a set down to defeat three-time former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday at the Open 13 Provence.

The 21-year-old Russian earned his first victory in Marseille after one hour and 33 minutes, withstanding 13 aces and winning 71 per cent of service points (50/70). Rublev will meet Matteo Berrettini for a place in the quarter-finals. Berrettini, who saved eight set points in the first set, defeated eighth seed Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6(12), 7-6(0).

"We did a great match, and I'm really happy for the win," Berrettini said. "I was able to... stay focused on my service games."

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Tsonga, who lifted the title in Marseille in 2009, 2013 and 2017, drops to 11-4 this season. After missing seven months of the 2018 ATP Tour season following left knee surgery, the 33-year-old Frenchman has impressed throughout this year. Earlier this month, Tsonga lifted his 17th ATP Tour title in Montpellier (d. Herbert) and reached the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament quarter-finals (l. to Medvedev).

"I won the first set 6-2, then I was broken at the beginning of the second set. [Andrey] was very aggressive. I had some tough moments with my serve. He played better in the end," said Tsonga. "I feel that I played a lot of matches in a row and back-to-back tournaments. I have to get used to it again."

Fernando Verdasco saved three match points to beat Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The fifth seed, who saved all three match points serving at 4-5 in the decider, fired 15 aces throughout the two-hour, 11-minute first-round meeting.

Peter Gojowczyk moved into the second round after 79 minutes, beating Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-4. The 29-year-old German, making his debut in Marseille, saved six of seven break points en route to victory and will meet two-time former champion Gilles Simon for a spot in the quarter-finals.

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Lucky loser Sergiy Stakhovsky landed 10 aces to beat French qualifier Constant Lestienne 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3. Benoit Paire also advanced, defeating Simone Bolelli 6-4, 7-6(1) to book a second-round clash against third seed David Goffin.

"I enjoyed the match because I was fighting a lot... We both played well today," said Paire. "I will have to do the same against Goffin. It will be a complicated match and I will give everything."
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Marseille
2019
Match Report
Andrey Rublev

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Rio Open presented by Claro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Scores
Draw
Schedule
1st round - quadra central01:20:34
D. Thiem
3 3
L. Djere
6 6
Game Set and Match Laslo Djere. Laslo Djere wins the match 6-3 6-3 .
1st round - quadra 101:58:02
T. Seyboth Wild
0 6 3 1
T. Daniel
0 3 6 4
The match has been suspended due to rain.
1st round - quadra central00:15:43
P. Cuevas
40 3
D. Schwartzman
15 0
The match has been suspended due to rain.
Open 13 Provence
Marseille, France
Scores
Draw
Schedule
1st round - court central02:11:34
F. Verdasco
4 6 7
E. Gerasimov
6 3 5
Game Set and Match Fernando Verdasco. Fernando Verdasco wins the match 4-6 6-3 7-5 .
1st round - court central02:10:03
J. Chardy
6 12 6 0
M. Berrettini
7 7
Game Set and Match Matteo Berrettini. Matteo Berrettini wins the match 7-6(12) 7-6(0).
1st round - court 101:00:36
O. Marach
M. Pavic
2 4
J. Nedunchezhiyan
P. Raja
6 6
Game Set and Match J. Nedunchezhiyan/P. Raja. J. Nedunchezhiyan/P. Raja win the match 6-2 6-4 .
Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com
Delray Beach, United States
Scores
Draw
Schedule
1st round - stadium01:32:12
P. Polansky
3 6 4
J. Isner
6 7
Game Set and Match John Isner. John Isner wins the match 6-3 7-6(4).
1st round - stadium01:50:38
J. del Potro
6 7
Y. Nishioka
3 5
Game Set and Match Juan Martin del Potro. Juan Martin del Potro wins the match 6-3 7-5 .
1st round - court 400:52:57
J. Millman
A. Popyrin
2 4
K. Skupski
N. Skupski
6 6
Game Set and Match K. Skupski/N. Skupski. K. Skupski/N. Skupski win the match 6-2 6-4 .
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Challenger

Andrey Rublev and Kyle Edmund set championship clash at the Indian Wells Challenger

They have both lifted trophies on the ATP Tour, but on Sunday, Kyle Edmund and Andrey Rublev will duel for a piece of Challenger silverware. The stage is set for a highly entertaining clash as the British No. 1 squares off against the 21-year-old Russian star.

Edmund, who celebrated his maiden ATP Tour title in Antwerp last year, will meet 2017 Umag champ Rublev for just the second time in their budding careers. Their lone previous encounter came in qualifying of the 2015 Irving Challenger, which Edmund clinched 6-1, 6-4.

Both the Brit and the Russian are hoping their respective runs to final in Indian Wells will propel them to ATP Masters 1000 success in the coming weeks. In search of match play and confidence, Edmund is returning from a knee injury while Rublev is battling back from a persistent back ailment. Their strong performances in the desert are encouraging signs as they look to return to form and continue their ATP Rankings assaults.

Edmund, who sits at No. 27, advanced to the final with a three-set victory over Lloyd Harris. Rublev, meanwhile, will return to the Top 100 with a victory on Sunday. The former World No. 31 lifted his lone Challenger trophy three years ago in Quimper, France.

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Russian reflects on journey back to health as he seeks his best tennis
Last February, Russian Andrey Rublev reached his career-high ATP Ranking of No. 31. Two months later, he was at home on his sofa… literally.

The 2017 Umag champion and two-time Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier missed three months last year due to a lower back stress fracture. He would spend three hours per day at a clinic doing magnetotherapy, eating lunch, and sitting on the sofa. In his words, he was doing ‘nothing’.

“That time was really tough for me. I was completely depressed, I was down. I remember I didn’t watch any tennis matches because as soon as I watched tennis news or something, I was feeling even more depressed that all the guys were playing and competing. They were on tour and I was there on the sofa doing nothing,” Rublev said. “It was a really tough moment and I’m happy that it’s almost already one year past and hopefully it’s never going to happen again.”

Rublev was desperate to return to action. He had reached the Doha final in his first tournament of 2018, a good start to the year. But he had no choice but to rehab.

“In that moment inside I was like, ‘I can’t wait, I want to be back on court as fast as possible’,” Rublev remembered. “But as soon as I arrived for my first tournament, I remember I was a little bit lost. I felt like I wasn’t there. I was feeling like I was in the past when I was playing well before the injury. To recover this mental part of being here in this moment took me a couple of months.”



Rublev reached the semi-finals of the Citi Open, an ATP 500 tournament, in his third tournament after returning in July. But that was the best result of his comeback, also making the semi-finals in his second appearance of the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Last February, Rublev was the Russian No. 1, ahead of then-World No. 47 Karen Khachanov and No. 50 Daniil Medvedev, who also made Milan in 2017. Both Khachanov and Medvedev are now inside the World’s Top 15, while Rublev is searching for his best tennis.

“To be honest if you talk about the guys, then I’m happy for them. If they’re winning, it means I also have enough level to win these matches, to win those tournaments, so I’m happy for them because we’re not enemies, we are friends,” Rublev said. “My goal is not if I do better [than them] or not. My goal is bigger. It’s to win big tournaments.”

Rublev has shown flashes of his best tennis in recent weeks, qualifying in both Indian Wells and Miami. In the California desert, the 21-year-old advanced to the third round, in which he lost to Khachanov. On Saturday, he upset ninth seed Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach the third round in Miami, earning a clash with #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.


The Cilic win is Rublev’s best by ATP Ranking since the 2017 US Open, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov. The Russian applied tons of pressure on former World No. 3 Cilic, earning 22 break points.

“It definitely is amazing for me, especially against a great player like Marin. I’ve known him a long time. I played him once a couple years ago, so I knew it was going to be very tough for me,” Rublev said. “I’m really happy that I won and I’m sure it’s going to give me much more confidence and I hope I will improve and play better and better.”

Rublev has been slowly feeling better this season. He points to a strong base he built during his off-season training in Barcelona.

“I started to move better, I started to feel that I was hitting the ball quite well. Then I was a little bit out mentally,” Rublev said. “But now mentally I’m much better and now everything is starting to come all together. Little by little, I’m starting to win some good matches.

“I completely forgot about my injury the past couple of months. I’m already playing fully: full practice, full intensity. So hopefully everything is recovered inside of my body and I’m hopefully 100 per cent healthy.”


It’s clear that Rublev has the potential to make up ground, and quickly. According to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who plays a similarly big-hitting game, the Russian has a bright future ahead of him.

“I think he has big potential. He’s a very good ball-striker from the baseline and I am pretty sure he will have a really great career,” Basilashvili said. He had the problem with his back and hopefully he will fully recover soon. I think he’s a really good player.”

Rublev is currently the World No. 99, and he fell as low as No. 115 in February. But the Russian is not worrying about that. He’s only concerned with his tennis.

“That was the last time I opened my ranking and then I never opened it again. Maybe sometimes I saw my name and sometimes on the draw they put the number and then I saw it. But I never opened it to see where I was in the Race or how many points I’m going to lose or gain,” Rublev said. “I haven’t looked since that time, because then you start to feel a little bit stressed and I don’t want to feel stressed.”

Rublev just wants to work hard, earn his way back to the stage, and compete with the very best in the sport.

Russian now meets Fognini or Carreno Busta

Russia’s Andrey Rublev played with great aggression on Friday to record the biggest win of his career for a place in the Hamburg European Open semi-finals.

The 21-year-old upset two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in one hour and 47 minutes at the Am Rothenbaum, venue of the ATP 500 clay-court tournament. It was his second Top 10 win, following on from his victory over then No. 9-ranked Grigor Dimitrov at the 2017 US Open.

World No. 78 Rublev recovered two break deficits in the first set, which saw top seed Thiem serve with a 5-3 lead. Rublev won the first four points of the tie-break and hit a forehand winner to clinch the opener on his second set point chance.

Deep returns from Rublev created an opening in the sixth game of the second set, when his Austrian opponent appeared to be affected by the sunlight. A double fault handed Rublev a break point at 30/40, which Thiem saved with a powerful serve. Rublev didn’t let a mis-timed forehand at 1/2 in the tie-break deter him, as he went on to win five straight points.

Rublev, who missed six weeks of the 2019 ATP Tour season due to a right wrist injury, is 12-9 on the season and will now face third-seed Italian Fabio Fognini or Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

Thiem and Fognini are both in the top 10 places in the 2019 ATP Race To London for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Buy Tickets