World No. 7 Andrey Rublev fights off home favorite Richard Gasquet to win a thriller match Wednesday in Marseille and make it through to the Open 13 Provence quarterfinals.
Andrey Rublev earned a huge win Wednesday at Palais des Sports; coming from a set down, he took out an inspired Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) after two hours and 25 minutes of an intense tennis display.
In his on-court interview, the Moscow native commented: “I think the match was unreal, the level Richard played today, I think it’s amazing; he deserved to win, but I was a bit more lucky.”
“I kept fighting, kept believing, and I turned around the match. I’m very happy because not many times you win the matches when you’re losing with a break in the third set and your opponent is serving for the match.”
In front of his front crowd, the 35-year-old Frenchman tested the second seed, missing crucial opportunities to stun the Russian on home soil.
A match with many twists and turns for each side saw Rublev holding his nerve to turn it around in his favor showcasing outstanding resilience, as the World No. 76 played one of his best matches in recent years.
Gasquet, a former Top 10, took the opener 6-4 with a flawless performance, setting off what would be a highly competitive clash between two generations of tennis.
The 24-year-old Russian found his way back into the game to steal the second set 6-3, enough to force a decider, keeping his chances alive.
Small margins set the tone across the three-setter, particularly throughout the third set.
As it began to unfold, Rublev saved two breakpoints to hold 1-1, albeit Gasquet quickly moved up a break at 4-2, marching to serve for the set at 5-4.
That’s when things started to turn around for the 2021 Davis Cup Finals champion, as his adversary struggled to close out.
Russia’s number two racquet regrouped to produce a comeback from 2-5, breaking Gasquet when serving for the win 5-4, who failed to convert three match points, allowing Rublev to level up 5-5.
However, nothing is said and done until the last ball, and the Beziers native was up battle it out.
The ATP 15-time titlist broke back serving, forcing a match tie-break against Rublev. Ultimately, the latter prevailed, earning a hard-fought triumph.
All in all, the Russian won 67 percent of his first-serve points to Gasquet’s 78 percent and 65 to 42 with the second serve, respectively.
In addition, the 8-time ATP winner converted three out of the seven breakpoints opportunities he faced, hitting 13 aces.
Next, he will meet the winner of the match between local player Lucas Pouille and World No. 97 Radu Albot.
Earlier in the day, fellow countryman Aslan Karatsev defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(1) to make it into the next round.
Gasquet began his campaign in Marseille on Monday, moving past young Swede Mikael Ymer 6-4, 7-5, advancing to the second round of the ATP 250 tournament.
