Bastad (Sweden): Russia’s Andrey Rublev defeated Federico Coria 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the quarterfinals at the Nordea Open, here on Thursday.
The second seed, who is making his debut in Bastad, was made to work hard against the resilient Coria in windy conditions.
In a topsy-turvy clash, Rublev recovered from squandering a 5-3 lead in the third set as he raised 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.
“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 next face Laslo Djere after the Serbian defeated Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-5, 6-2 to advance to his third tour-level quarter-final of the season.
Rublev is aiming to capture his fourth tour-level title of the season this week at the clay-court event, having lifted trophies in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade. Following his win over last yea’s finalist Coria, the World No 8 now holds a 9-0 record at ATP 250 tournaments in 2022.
–IANS
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