Andrey Rublev saved five match points in a row–from 6-1 down in the second-set tiebreaker–to stun Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(3) in round two of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday afternoon.
“I started to be positive, and I made this crazy tiebreak comeback from 1-6 that I’ve never done in my life before,” Rublev said. “I’m really, really happy.”
The 25-year-old Russian, who is the defending champion in Dubai, is making a habit of this sort of thing in 2023. He fought off two match points before beating Holger Rune in the fourth round of the Australian Open and three to outlast Tallon Griekspoor in his Doha opener last week.
“It happened already this season and I’m super happy that I’m able to win these matches against [top players],” Rublev added. “The beginning (of today’s match) wasn’t good. I got frustrated. He started really well; he was hitting really hard and I didn’t have many options. But then, little by little, I started to play and started to fight.”
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nice one, Rublev