Andrey Rublev didn’t have things all his own way Thursday, but he stepped up when needed to claw past Federico Coria 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) and reach the quarter-finals at the Nordea Open.
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 Head2Head 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.”
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 year’s finalist Coria, the World No. 8 now holds a 9-0 record at ATP 250 tournaments in 2022.
[ATP APP]