Andrey Rublev confirms his good form as he defeats
Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 and advances to the semifinals of the ATP 500
Vienna Open.
The head-to-head record favored the German world No.
10 by 5-2, but their last two encounters this year ended in Rublev's favor. In
their first indoor match, both reached the quarterfinals without dropping a
set.
Rublev defeated Alexei Popyrin (7-6, 6-4) and Matteo
Arnaldi (7-5, 6-3) on his way to this stage. The Russian arrived here after an
impressive week at the Masters 1000 Shanghai Open, where he reached the final
but lost in a third-set tiebreak against Hubert Hurkacz (3-6, 6-3, 7-6).
Zverev had comfortable victories in the previous
rounds over the Austrian Sebastian Ofner (6-4, 6-1) and Cameron Norrie (6-2,
6-4), leaving behind two consecutive first-round defeats in Shanghai and Tokyo.
In the first set, both players started strong on their
serves in the initial games. In the fourth game, Rublev applied pressure on
'Sascha,' and in a hard-fought game, the Russian earned the first break point
to take a 3-1 lead. It wouldn't be the only break, as after holding his serve,
he broke Zverev again and comfortably took the set 6-1 in 39 minutes.
In the second set, Zverev improved his serve, hitting
at 79% first-serve accuracy and winning 81% of those points, along with 71% of
second-serve points. The German also displayed better returning, allowing him
to play longer points.
While Zverev improved in his return game, Rublev began
to play more aggressively and take risks. In a set without breaks, Rublev hit
14 winners and made 5 unforced errors, while Zverev counted 8 winners and 3
unforced errors. In the tie-break, the 26-year-old German recovered from a 3-0
deficit and leveled the match with a score of 7-6(5).
The start of the third set was very positive for
Rublev, who continued to seek winners with great confidence. He quickly took a
3-0 lead thanks to a break and held his serve to win the match
6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3.
In the semifinals, Rublev awaits the result of the
last match of the day between the 7th seed Frances Tiafoe (12th) and the second
seed Jannik Sinner (4th). In the other semifinal, a great clash between Daniil
Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas is already confirmed. If Sinner defeats
'Big-Foe,' the tournament will feature the top four seeds in the semifinals.
