Andriej Rubliow

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4) Stars To Watch: Second seed Andrey Rublev, who is playing Barcelona for the first time since 2021, will aim to end his three-match skid and re-energise his season with a deep run in Spain. Australian Alex de Minaur, a 2022 semi-finalist at the tournament, is the fourth seed and could play Nadal in the second round.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/barcelo ... ing-report

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5) Can Medvedev & Rublev get back on track? Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have yet to find their best level on clay this season. Medvedev lost in the third round in Monte-Carlo, while Rublev suffered opening-round defeats in the Principality and Barcelona. Rublev’s best result in Madrid came in 2022 when he reached the quarter-finals. Medvedev, who captured his only clay-court tour-level crown in Rome last year, has advanced to the second round twice in the Spanish capital (2021, 23’).

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/madrid- ... ing-report

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Rublev snaps losing streak in Madrid

Spoiler:

Andrey Rublev snapped a four-match losing streak on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he beat Argentine Facundo Bagnis 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round in Madrid for the fourth consecutive year.

The No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings struck 24 winners and committed 10 unforced errors according to Infosys ATP Stats, advancing after one hour and 30 minutes to improve to 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“It feels really great after a while to start with a win and I’m happy with my performance,” said Rublev. “I think I played a good match, for the first round especially being in completely different conditions compared to other tournaments, and I played a good level.”

Rublev had a strong start to the season, winning the title on hard courts in Hong Kong in January. However, he has struggled to find his best level in recent weeks, with his previous win coming in Indian Wells at the start of March.

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The 26-year-old will hope his victory against Bagnis can kickstart his season again. The seventh seed will meet Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round after the home favourite beat #NextGenATP Chinese star Shang Juncheng 7-5, 6-3.

“This week I started to feel that I’m more relaxed,” said Rublev. “I was practising well and the mood was different since I arrived here. That’s why I had the feeling I should win one match at least.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rublev- ... 024-friday

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Rublev continued his return to form with victory against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The World No. 8 arrived in Madrid off the back of a four-match losing streak before he defeated Facundo Bagnis in his opening match in the Spanish capital.

Rublev backed up that win with a 7-6(10), 6-4 triumph against Davidovich Fokina on Manolo Santana Stadium, where he saved five set points in an epic first-set tie-break before he converted on his second opportunity. The 26-year-old then broke Davidovich Fokina's serve twice in the second set to improve to 4-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"Alejandro was making really great points, so I didn't have many chances," Rublev said. "I was mentally down. The first couple of points I was down [in the tie-break], 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 is seeking his second title of the year this week, having triumphed in Hong Kong. His only previous ATP Masters 1000 trophy run came on clay last year in Monte-Carlo.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/griekspoor-rune-rublev

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