Andrey Rublev sails into Indian Wells R3 over Taberner

It was a furious start for Andrey Rublev who looked like a man on a mission against his opponent. Rublev was very furious the last time he was on the court when he threw away a match against Cameron Norrie in the San Diego Open finals. Determined not to make the same mistake he came out strong taking a 3-0 lead. He kept applying more pressure but Taberner held his nerve so the Russian won the first set with only 6-3.

The Spaniard played a solid match forcing the Russian to save break points in both sets but left himself very vulnerable with a weak 2nd serve. The start of the 2nd set featured solid play by both with break points saved by both players.

Rublev kept applying the pressure and eventually got the break he needed to open the match wide open which he did. Showing some fight Taberner was able to pull the break back and make it 4-4 with Rublev visibly livid after losing his serve. He eventually calmed down just in time to break his opponent once more for the 5-4 lead.

And finally he was able to close it out with 6-4 getting himself of the court before throwing away a lead similar to the way he did it against Norrie in San Diego. A good win overall despite some shaky moments and one step closer to Turin.