Andrey Rublev defeats former Slam champion at Gijon Open

Andrey Rublev advanced to the final of the Gijon Open with a straight sets victory over Dominic Thiem

Rublev, ranked nine in the world, won 6-4 6-4 and will face either Sebastian Korda in tomorrow’s final.

The Russian raced into an early 4-1 lead and had the chance of a double break. He was pegged back by Thiem, the former US Open champion, who saved it and then claimed a break of his own in the next Rublev service game.

Rublev regained his composure to force a Thiem error as he was serving to stay in the set. The second set went on serve until the Russian once again broke the Austrian’s serve as he looked to stay in the championship at 5-4 down.

Andrey Rublev was pleased with how he overcame the disappointment of squandering a commanding lead in the first set. In his on-court interview he said, ”When I was winning 4-1 with a break point for 5-1 it looks like the match is going my way and then I am at 5-4 with him serving.”

”That’s not easy to accept but I was lucky I played a really good game and Dominic helped me out a bit.”

He is hoping to win his fourth title of the season, having already won in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille.

Thiem, who was once ranked number three in the world, can look back on a positive week. He reached his second semi-final of the season since returning from a long-term wrist injury. He now moves up to 132 in the live ATP rankings.

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