Andrey Rublev continued his red-hot clay-court form on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round.
The fifth seed clinched his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo earlier this month before he advanced to the final in Banja Luka. With his one-hour, 19-minute win against Wawrinka, Rublev improved to 9-1 on clay this season.
Competing inside Manolo Santana Stadium, Rublev struck the ball with relentless power off the forehand wing to dictate. He earned the decisive break of the first set in the 11th game, before he rallied from 0-2 in the second set, serving out the match at the second time of asking to improve to 2-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against 2014 finalist Wawrinka.
“I am happy I am into the next round,” Rublev said. “When I saw the draw I thought that it was amazing being the fifth seed and having Wawrinka in the opening round. When I was World No. 40, I sometimes had a [much] easier draw. I was thinking ‘OK, maybe I would go home early’. In the last meeting, he beat me, so I was thinking to focus and see what would happen but I was able to win today and I feel great.”
Rublev, currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, will next meet Yoshihito Nishioka after the 28th seed defeated Alex Molcan 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Rublev is chasing his 14th tour-level title this fortnight in Madrid. The 25-year-old has captured four of his crowns on clay, including this month’s triumph in Monte-Carlo.
Swiss Wawrinka moved past Maxime Cressy in the first round to reach the second round in Madrid for the 11th time. The 38-year-old, who was competing in the Spanish capital for the first time since 2019, has lifted seven tour-level trophies on clay, including Roland Garros in 2015.
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In other action, German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann continued his dream run when he upset 15th-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(3). Daniel Altmaier will be Hanfmann’s next opponent after the German downed countryman Oscar Otte 6-4, 7-5.