Andrei Rublev saved five match points and defeated Alejandro Davidovich in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament on hard court in Dubai in a decisive tie-break. One of the favourites, Félix Auger-Aliassime, was eliminated.

Andrei Rublev emerged from an almost hopeless situation on Wednesday. In the match of the 2nd round of the ATP tournament in Dubai with Alejandro Davidovich, the tennis player from Moscow lost the first set 1-6, lost 1-6 in the second set, but saved five match points and finally won won 1-6, 7-6(6), 7:6(1).

Rublev showed up average on Wednesday, but in the key moments of the game he stepped up to the next level. In the decisive moments of the two tie breaks, he was faultless and effective in attack, which allowed him to tip the balance in his favor.

Defending champion Moscow, second-seeded, who has scored 12 aces and 32 knockouts in two hours and 25 minutes of play, will face Botik van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals. The Dutchman also made up for the loss of a set on Wednesday and beat (3:6, 6:3, 6:3) Mikael Ymer.

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Another favorite of the event, Félix Auger-Aliassime, was eliminated. The Canadian, tournament “four”, did not have a single break point, he served once and after a match of almost two hours, he lost 6:7 (4), 4:6 against Lorenzo Sonego.

Thus, Sonego got his revenge on Auger-Aliassime for this year’s loss in Rotterdam. The Italian’s next rival will be marked by ‘seven’ Alexander Zverev. The German beat qualifier Christopher O’Connell to reach his first quarter-final since June 2022 when he injured his ankle in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros which prevented him from playing for the rest of last season.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai (UAE)
ATP 500, hard court, $2.855 million prize pool
Wednesday March 1

2nd singles round:

Andrei Rublev (2) – Alejandro Davidovich (Spain) 1-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(3)
Alexander Zverev (Germany, 7) b. Christopher O’Connell (Australia, Q) 7-5, 6-4
Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) bt Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 4) 7:6(4), 6:4
Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands) – Mikael Ymer (Sweden) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

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