Karatsev and Rublev advance at Open 13 Provence

Andrey Rublev barely survived against Richard Gasquet while Aslan Karatsev battled past Holger Rune at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Earlier today Aslan Karatsev took on Holger Rune in the 2nd round of the event and the Russian found a way to battle past the Danish talent. It was a fairly competitive match yet the Russian showed more experience and more composure in the crucial moments of the match. The first went easier for Karatsev than the 2nd set where the Russian needed to win in the tiebreak.

Overall the score was 6-3 7-6(1) and enough to move on to the next round. The most competitive and entertaining match happened much later in the day when 2nd seed Andrey Rublev took on native Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman was expected to put up a fight but he outdid himself by turning back to the clock and delivering a majestic performance.

The first set was won by Gasquet who was simply better in the crucial moments. Rublev had a lot of success when returning the 2nd serve but ultimately failed to convert either break point. Gasquet converted his only won and won it 6-4. In the 3rd set, Rublev played much better in key moments and this time around he converted his break point while Gasquet didn't and that was the difference.

The final set was pure brilliance by Gasquet who was clearly the better player early one. The Frenchman got into a position to serve for the match at 5-4 but lost his serve in the crucial moment. Rublev then broke his opponent once more but lost his serve when serving for the match as well. Ultimately he finished it off in the tiebreak 7-3.