Hamburg European Open: Andrey Rublev beats Ricardas Berankis in the opening round
2020 champion Andrey Rublev of Russia won against Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Hamburg European Open at Am Rothenbaum in Hamburg, Germany, on July 20
Andrey RublevWorld No. 8 Andrey Rublev has a strong record at Hamburg European Open. He came into the tournament with a win-loss record of 9-2, having won the trophy at the ATP 500 tournament in 2020 in a championship match clash against Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Second seed Andrey Rublev started the first set aggressively and dominated Ricardas Berankis with accurate and explosive groundstrokes to win 6-3. However, the 32-year-old Lithuanian roared back into the second set and broke his Russian opponent. Andrey Rublev upped the intensity of strikes at the right moment to break back and seal his victory after one hour and 13 minutes of play.
In an on-court interview, Andrey Rublev said, I am happy with my performance. Ricardas is a really tough player. He hits the ball hard and plays fast, so I had to bring the intensity from the first game. I am thrilled with how I was serving today, and I hit some great shots from the baseline.
The victory improved the win-loss record of Andrey Rublev against Ričardas Berankis to 3-0. The 24-year-old Russian is aiming to win his fourth title for the season in Hamburg, having earlier won trophies at the Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade Open this year.
Andrey Rublev will lock horns with World No. 30 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the second round of the Hamburg European Open on July 21. The 23-year-old Argentine advanced to the second round after beating Daniel Altmaier of Germany 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round.
In another men’s singles match of the day, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain fell 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(7-5) to Alex Molcan of Slovakia in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament.
Andrey Rublev is back for U.S Open after being banned from Wimbledon
The final tennis Grand Slam of the year is all set to begin on August 29. The U.S Open has not announced the seeding as of now. Still, Russian and Belarusian players who were banned from competing at Wimbledon, including Andrey Rublev, have been allowed to compete at the prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
The United States Tennis Association announced the entry list for draws of the U.S Open on July 20. Andrey Rublev, along with World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka have been included in the list.
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