Tennis: Top seed Rublev shocked at ATP Hong Kong Open
Top seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev of Russia suffered a surprising defeat to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in the second round of the ATP Hong Kong Open on Thursday.
Andrey Rublev of Russia advanced to the quarterfinals of the Nordea Open on Thursday, defeating Federico Coria 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2).
In windy conditions, the second seed, who is making his debut in Bastad, was forced to work hard against the tenacious Coria.
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Rublev recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the third set by increasing his intensity in the tie-break, hitting through the Argentine to advance after two hours and 36 minutes in their first ATP head-to-head meeting.
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“The conditions were extremely tough to play in. To show a great level,” Rublev said in his on-court interview.
“In the end, I am happy that I won. Federico played really well today, especially in the third set when he raised the level. It was really tough to play against, but I am really happy to win,” he added.
The 24-year-old will now face Laslo Djere, who defeated Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-5, 6-2 to reach his third tour-level quarter-final of the season.
Rublev, who has won titles in Marseille, Dubai, and Belgrade this season, is aiming for his fourth tour-level title this week at the clay-court event. After defeating last year’s finalist Coria, the World No. 8 now has a 9-0 record in ATP 250 tournaments in 2022.
(Inputs from IANS)
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