Andrey Rublev rallies from 5-0 tiebreak deficit in third-round Madrid win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Rublev's two wins in Madrid mark the first time he's won back-to-back matches since his default from the Dubai semifinals on March 1.
Winning two matches in a row, historically, hasn't been a notable milestone for Andrey Rublev since he first debuted in the Top 10 four years ago.
But, in the spring of 2024, it is. For the first time since he was defaulted in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on March 1, Rublev has won two matches at a tournament this week at the Mutua Madrid Open.
In Sunday's third round at the Caja Mágica, seventh-seeded Rublev defeated Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-6(10), 6-4, in which he rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the first-set tiebreak. In all, Rublev saved five set points in the 22-point breaker, a set that lasted more than an hour, and needed two set points himself.
"Alejandro was making really great points, so I didn't have many chances," Rublev said afterwards. "I was mentally down. The first couple of points I was down, I played like I don't care and managed to win them. Then on my serve I was thinking at least to keep your serve and it might be 4-5, and then you don't know what will happen.
"Then it was 4-5 and the score became more tight and I managed to come back. I started to feel more confidence in the second set and started to feel the game better."
Rublev had entered Madrid on a four-match losing streak (including a loss in the first match of his title defense at the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo earlier this month), but snapped that with a win over Argentina's Facundo Bagnis in the opening round.
The second set was also decided by the slimmest of margins. On break point at 4-4, Rublev mishit a forehand groundstroke that floated deep towards Davidovich Fokina's baseline. Called in by the line umpire, the Spaniard immediately stopped the point and signaled for an electronic review, which is being used on the clay courts in Madrid. The ball was confirmed to have just touched the back edge of the baseline.
DAvidovich Fokina didn't win another point. Rublev emphatically struck four forehand winners, part of his 29 total for the match, to hold at love for the victory.
For a spot in the quarterfinals, Rublev will next face No. 24 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who upset No. 11 seed Holger Rune 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Rublev beat Griekspoor twice last year, but rallied from a set down in both of those wins.