Dubai tennis: Andrey Rublev in ATP final eight

Defending champion Andrey Rublev has secured a spot in the final eight of the ATP 500 at the  Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after he beat Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday (March 1). The Olympic gold medallist, seeded No.2 here this week, was staring at five match points as Davidovich Fokina led by a set and 6-1 in the tiebreaker. Yet as his opponent capitulated, Rublev rallied, taking the second-set tiebreak 8-6 and winning a third-set tiebreak 7-3 to secure safe passage into the quarterfinals and continue his quest to become the first back-to-back Dubai champion since Roger Federer in 2015. A frustrated Davidovich Fokina smashed his own racquet at the end of the second set and even though he recovered his composure, from that moment on it always looked like Rublev had the upper hand – even if he did not quite believe it himself. “These matches, when it's over, and somehow you win them, it's always special,” said Rublev, who will face Botic van de Zandschulp next. “I have no words to describe. I feel lucky because I almost lost and somehow I won. I don't even have any emotions now because, in my head, the match was done. The beginning wasn’t good. started really well, hitting hard, and I didn’t have many options. Then I started to be positive and came back in the crazy tiebreak from 6-1. I’ve never done it before in my life before, so I’m really happy,” Rublev said. ICA/Expat Media
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