'Lucky' Rublev rallies to reach Banja Luka semis
Published: 04:04 PM,Apr 21,2023 | EDITED : 08:04 PM,Apr 21,2023
Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Andrey Rublev secured his place in the Banja Luka semifinals on Friday after recovering from a poor start to beat Bosnian wild card Damir Dzumhur 7-5, 6-3.
Rublev, who won his first Masters title in Monte Carlo last week, trailed the 202nd-ranked Dzumhur 5-2 in the opening set before saving a set point and winning five games on the bounce.
The second seed was again under pressure as he fought off four break points early in the second set, but steadied himself once more and grabbed the key break in the fifth game.
'We've always had tough battles and today was the same. I was lucky I was able to come back,' said Rublev, now unbeaten in five matches against Dzumhur.
Rublev's reward for extending his winning run to seven matches is a semifinal against Slovakia's Alex Molcan, the world number 73 who beat Laslo Djere of Serbia in three sets.
Novak Djokovic could await Rublev in Sunday's final. The top-ranked Serb takes on countryman Dusan Lajovic in the last eight. -- AFP
Rublev, who won his first Masters title in Monte Carlo last week, trailed the 202nd-ranked Dzumhur 5-2 in the opening set before saving a set point and winning five games on the bounce.
The second seed was again under pressure as he fought off four break points early in the second set, but steadied himself once more and grabbed the key break in the fifth game.
'We've always had tough battles and today was the same. I was lucky I was able to come back,' said Rublev, now unbeaten in five matches against Dzumhur.
Rublev's reward for extending his winning run to seven matches is a semifinal against Slovakia's Alex Molcan, the world number 73 who beat Laslo Djere of Serbia in three sets.
Novak Djokovic could await Rublev in Sunday's final. The top-ranked Serb takes on countryman Dusan Lajovic in the last eight. -- AFP