Andrey Rublev and
Karen Khachanov didn't disappoint their home crowd on Tuesday as both of them won their matches and advanced to the
St. Petersburg Open.
Karen Khachanvo was the first one to step onto the courts in St. Petersburg to face off against James Duckworth. It's started off very well for the Russian who broke James in the first game to take a 2-0 lead. From that point, the match was rather uninteresting with both players winning service games with ease. Khachanov focused on his own serve and try too hard when Duckworth served. He won the set 6-4 without any issues.
The 2nd set was a bit more interesting as there was more action in general. Khachanov once again broke Duckworth early but also surrendered his own serve in the very next game. After that, it was rather calm until late in the set when the crucial moment happened at 4-4. Khachanov broke Duckworth and proceeded to end it with 6-4. It wasn't a spectacular showing by the Russian but a straight-set victory in 78 minutes is something he won't complain about.
Rublev stepped onto the court to conclude the Tuesday programme with a match against Pospisil. Vasek is a strong hard court player especially indoors thanks to his good serve. Sadly for him, none of that was at display in the first set which Rublev won 6-2. The Russian ruthlessly attacked Vasek on his 2nd serve and won 11 of 14 points on it for a quick first set.
The 2nd set followed a similar pattern. Pospisil still struggled on his 2nd serve and Rublev took advantage of it. It didn't follow the exact pattern as Pospisil fought back to take a 3-2 lead. Rublev continued playing his game and very soon took the lead once more closing the match with 6-4. While Pospisil was simply overmatched by the Russian he won only 9 of 26 2nd service points which made it quite easy for Rublev to win and advance.