By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday February 16, 2022
Rublev rallied from a break down in the third to spoil Gasquet's upset bid in Marseille.
Photo Source: AP
Andrey Rublev had his back against the wall at the Open 13, but the Russian found a way to slither past Richard Gasquet and into the quarterfinals, rallying from a set down, and a break down in the final set, to finally triumph, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
The second-seeded Russian reaches the quarterfinals, where he will face either wild card Lucas Pouille or Moldova’s Radu Albot.
Gasquet served for the match at 5-3 in the third but Rublev broke, then held serve from 0-30 to level at 5-all. There were elements of pure magic in the performance of the Frenchman, particularly in sets one and three, but nerves and fatigue got the best of him down the stretch.
The pair traded breaks in the final two games, before the Russian plowed through the tiebreak to clinch his sixth win of the 2022 season.
Benjamin Bonzi (d. Kamil Majchrzak), Ilya Ivashka (d. Stefano Travaglia), Lucas Pouille (d. Tallon Griekspoor) and Aslan Karatsev (d. Holger Rune) were also winners on Wednesday at the Palais des Sports in Marseille. Karatsev reached the quarters while the other singles winners moved into the second round.