Andrey Rublev has started into the ATP sand court tournament in Umag as defending champion. But for the 20-year-old Russian, Robin Haase from the Netherlands was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Andrey Rublev is considered one of the biggest hopes for the next generation on the ATP tour. His triumph at last year’s Croatia Open in Umag brought him into the spotlight of the tennis circus for the first time. And this in a very special way: He managed the rare feat of winning the event in Istria as Lucky Loser. It was his first and so far only ATP title.
That year Rublev returned to Umag. However, under completely different circumstances. Seeded at number 4 of the sand court tournament endowed with 501,345 Euro, the young star was spared the exhausting walk through the qualification. Even a walk-through in the first round was possible.
However, the Muscovite had to struggle with a persistent back injury in the run-up to the event. His title defence in Umag should also be his comeback on the tour. In his first match since April, Rublev immediately showed that he feels at home in the Goran Ivanisevic stadium.
After a hard fight and a break in the final round, he finally defeated the Canadian teenager Félix Auger-Alisassime in three sets. “This was my first match after three months of injury and it was unbelievable. The atmosphere was huge. But I’m really tired too. It feels like I played five sets today,” Rublev said and seemed visibly exhausted when the match ended just before midnight on Thursday evening.
The lack of play practice was probably also a negative factor in his quarter-final match against Robin Haase, number 6 on the seed list. The 31-year-old Dutchman was fresher on Friday afternoon as soon as the longer rallies began. Haase took the serve off Rublev twice and after two sets and the final score of 6:3, 7:6(6), after one hour and 38 minutes, he left the pitch victorious.
“Although I didn’t serve so well, the match went well,” Haase said afterwards. “The conditions here are not easy. Even though it wasn’t that hot today, the high humidity again made us sweat a lot. “That draws a lot of energy from your body.”
After the end of the title defender, Haase will enter the second semi-final of the season. He reached the last four in Auckland earlier this year and will now face Guido Pella in Umag. Argentina’s number 72 defeated Serb Dusan Lajovic 7-6(3), 7-5 and is one of two gauchos still in the tournament.
Pella’s compatriot Marco Trungelliti had no problems with the Russian Evgeny Donskoy afterwards. After 72 minutes it was 6:1, 6:4 for the qualifier from Argentina. Trungelliti will now face Marco Cecchinato. The 25-year-old Italian defeated Laslo Djere from Serbia 6-4, 6-1 in the last match of the evening.