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2017 quarter-finalist to face Barrere in second round
Two years ago, Jeremy Chardy ended Andrey Rublev’s US Open hopes in the first round. At the same stage on Tuesday, Rublev got his revenge.
The 10th seed produced a clinical performance on Court 11, striking 34 winners to overcome the Frenchman 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and earn his first victory since the resumption of the ATP Tour. At last week’s Western & Southern Open, the Russian fell in three sets to Daniel Evans in the first round.
With his eighth win in 12 matches at the US Open, Rublev improves to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Chardy. This year’s Doha and Adelaide champion will face Gregoire Barrere for a spot in the third round.
Barrere landed 52 winners to advance to the US Open second round for the second straight year, beating Taro Daniel of Japan 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. The 26-year-old’s win snaps a three-match tour-level losing streak, dating back to the Open Sud de France in February. At that ATP 250 event, Barrere upset Grigor Dimitrov to reach his second ATP Tour quarter-final.
Russian crushes 35 winners to only 15 unforced errors in 84-minute win
Andrey Rublev was ruthless en route a 6-0, 6-4, 6-0 victory against Salvatore Caruso on Saturday, advancing to the fourth round of the US Open for the third time.
The big-hitting Russian broke the Italian's serve eight times, crushing 35 winners to only 15 unforced errors in his one-hour, 24-minute victory. Rublev has not lost a set through three matches in Flushing Meadows.
Caruso did well to reach the third round of the US Open on his tournament main draw debut, but he could not find any solutions to get the 10th seed off his aggressive game. The World No. 100 managed to win just 50 per cent of his first-serve points. Rublev put pressure on Caruso with his powerful baseline game and he also hit 17 aces.
Rublev has experience making deep runs at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In 2017, when he was 19, Rublev became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001. The Russian will try to reach the last eight again when he plays sixth seed Matteo Berrettini or 30th seed Casper Ruud.
Did You Know?
Rublev won his first 11 matches of the 2020 season, capturing titles in Doha and Adelaide. The Russian became the first player to win titles in the first two weeks of the year since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004.
Kafelnikov: 'Kids Want To Be Like Medvedev, Rublev Or Khachanov'
Spoiler:
Former World No. 1 Kafelnikov reflects on Russian success
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin are Russian heroes. They were the first men from their country to win a Grand Slam and reach World No. 1. But according to Kafelnikov, times are changing... in a good way.
“If you go to the tennis clubs where juniors are participating, they don’t want to be like Kafelnikov or Safin anymore,” Kafelnikov said. “They want to be like Medvedev or Rublev or Khachanov. That’s logical. It’s a good thing for them to follow someone and try to be like those three guys.”
Third seed Daniil Medvedev and 10th seed Andrey Rublev are into the fourth round at the US Open for the second straight year. This marks the first time in the Open Era that two Russian men have reached the fourth round of the US Open in consecutive years.
“It would have been nice if all the three made the fourth round, but unfortunately Karen lost to De Minaur. That was a tough loss. I thought he had a good chance to be in the fourth round and in that case it would have been spectacular, but that’s life,” Kafelnikov said. “Two Russians are in the fourth round and onto the second week, so that’s definitely a good thing for Russian tennis.”
It’s fitting that Medvedev and Rublev have known each other since they were young. The 24-year-old Medvedev, who is 20 months older than his 22-year-old countryman, remembers their first meeting.
“I think we played a match when we were maybe 12 years old, or [he was] 11, and we were [some] of the worst juniors in terms of attitude that you could see,” Medvedev said. “We were crying, throwing the racquets over the fans. We were young, of course, so we hated to lose. I was doing only lobs at the time. I don't think he was hitting the ball as hard as right now. They were crazy matches.”
They have history in New York from their junior days, too. One year after both Russians lost, they visited Times Square together.
“We had a great time,” Medvedev said. “Jelena Ostapenko was also there. Nice memories. All of us are on the top level now.”
Rublev was the first to break through at a Grand Slam, reaching the US Open quarter-finals in 2017 when he was 19. That made him the youngest quarter-finalist at this event since Andy Roddick in 2001. Rublev was World No. 53 when he accomplished that. Now, he is at a career-high World No. 14. Medvedev has noticed his friend’s improvement, especially in the consistency department.
“We knew he can play amazing tennis, just unbelievable tennis. But if he was not there yet [it] meant he was not as consistent as [he] could have been,” Medvedev said. “Now he's really consistent. Every tournament he plays he does good. The start of the year was amazing for him, so hopefully he will continue like this.”
Rublev began 2020 with an 11-0 record, becoming the first player to win titles in the first two weeks of the season (Doha, Adelaide) since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004. Perhaps nobody has been as consistent since the start of last season as Medvedev. The 6’6” righty reached the final of six consecutive tournaments last year, winning his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles in Cincinnati and Shanghai while also making his maiden major final at the US Open.
“He has an amazing serve, amazing return. [He] has amazing legs. [He is an] unbelievable fighter. He brings all the balls [back in play]. He fights no matter what,” Rublev said. “His style of the game is really, really unusual, so you cannot rush with him. He forces you to not play your style of the game. He forces you to play a little bit slower. He forces you to wait more, to play longer rallies.
“Many players maybe in one moment after one hour playing this type of game, type of style, they start to stress, they start to give up. They start to rush, they start to go for the shots, try to play shorter rallies and in the end they miss more than they make.”
Medvedev and Rublev might play one another in the quarter-finals. In Monday’s fourth round, Medvedev faces Frances Tiafoe and Rublev battles sixth seed Matteo Berrettini, with the winners of those matches clashing in the last eight. But no matter what happens, the Russians are making a broader statement.
Medvedev, Rublev and Khachanov all have competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals — Rublev did so twice — and they are now proving themselves among the world’s best. On 2 March they became the first Russian trio to be inside the Top 15 of the FedEx ATP Rankings in history (since 1973).
“We’ve been struggling on the men’s side especially with players consistently reaching the second week of Grand Slams. We almost had three guys, so we could not be happier than with what we’re seeing right now. For the fans and the supporters, it’s quite a good thing,” Kafelnikov said. “Tennis is still a big sport [in Russia]. It gets a lot of coverage on the TV, in the media. Tennis athletes are well-recognised in the country.
“Medvedev with his results has definitely [increased] his image and he has become a much more recognisable sports figure in the country for sure. If he continues like this he might become bigger than all ice hockey players or football players. That’s totally in his hands, whatever he does on the court. If they [all] continue their success, they’re definitely going to be more recognisable.”
Rublev's Revenge: Russian Ousts Berrettini To Reach US Open QFs
Spoiler:
Rublev lost to Berrettini at last year's US Open
Andrey Rublev served Matteo Berrettini a dish of revenge on Monday at the US Open.
One year after Berrettini defeated Rublev in straight sets in the fourth round en route to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final, the Russian flipped the script. Rublev weathered an early storm to oust the sixth seed 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, reaching his second quarter-final in Flushing Meadows.
"It was really tough, especially against Matteo. He's a Top 10 player," Rublev said on court after his two-hour, 42-minute triumph. "I knew it was going to be a tough battle and I'm really happy I won."
It was a heavyweight brawl inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, with both players crushing the ball, especially off the forehand wing. Both men entered their fourth-round encounter without losing a set this tournament, but only one could advance.
In the early going, the match played out similarly to their clash of a year ago. Berrettini used his backhand slice often in order to keep his Russian opponent from gaining enough rhythm to repeatedly bludgeon the ball. Then when the opportunity presented itself, Berrettini blasted his forehand. That pushed Rublev far behind the baseline, where he is less comfortable.
All Berrettini needed in the opening set was a crisp cross-court forehand passing shot to give him the lone break of the first set. After holding in his first service game of the second set, Berrettini had won his first 51 service games of the tournament, making him the only player who had not dropped serve.
But that was when the match turned around. Berrettini used his backhand slice and short chip well early on, but he began making poor shot selections off that wing, which shifted the tide. Perhaps more importantly, Berrettini only made 48 per cent of his first serves in the second set, allowing the Russian to swing away. Rublev broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set and suddenly he was the player taking control of the baseline.
"Last year I remember he started to play really well, he started to play aggressively and I was not ready to accept that. I started to complain really early. I was thinking, 'How was it possible that he's playing so good? I cannot play the same way.' When I woke up I was already losing two sets to zero and he was already so confident," Rublev said. "Today he started also so good. He was aggressive, he was dictating. I think I accepted this a little earlier and that's why after the first set I was able to come back and start to play better."
Rublev hit 34 winners to only 28 unforced errors, while Berrettini made 44 unforced errors. The Russian did not lose serve after the first set.
The 10th-seeded Rublev made the last eight at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2017 as a 19-year-old, making him the youngest player to reach the US Open quarter-finals since Andy Roddick in 2001. But now, Rublev is deep into the American Grand Slam with far more experience.
Since that run, Rublev has won three of his four ATP Tour trophies. He began this season with titles in Doha and Adelaide, making him the first player to capture hardware in the first two weeks of the year since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004.
"It's an amazing feeling. I was waiting for five months," Rublev said, referencing the ATP Tour's suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's a really special moment for me to play here, to win matches, to win [against] great players. I was waiting a lot for this moment."
Rublev will next play third seed Daniil Medvedev or American Frances Tiafoe.
Did You Know?
Berrettini and Rublev were two of 10 players aged 24 and under who reached the fourth round, marking the most of that age at the US Open since 2001 (also 10).
4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3