Andrey Rublev recovered from squandering two match points in the fourth set to fight off a valiant Alexander Bublik Sunday and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.
The World No. 7 was in firm control of the match after winning the opening two sets. But Bublik claimed the third and fourth sets in tie-breaks and kept the 25-year-old on the backfoot with massive serving before Rublev roared back to win 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-7(5) 6-4 after three hours and 17 minutes.
“Every set I had chances, I had opportunities,” said Rublev, who fell to Bublik in the Halle final in the second week of the grass season. “One match point he served full power 135 mph and second match point he served big again. I thought just keep playing and I will have one more chance at least, so don’t explode before the match is over.”
Rublev, who fired 20 aces to Bublik’s 39, will next face the winner of seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
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Both players crushed the ball with unrelenting power but two factors proved decisive. Bublik was unable to capitalise on any of the five break chances he had in the match – including one each in the first and second sets. And several of Bublik’s 14 double faults came at critical times. In the first set he came unglued with back-to-back double faults to hand the set to the World No. 7. The recent Halle champion also threw in a double fault at 30-all in the sixth game of the second set, when he was decisively broken and again at 30-all in the eighth game of the fifth set, which gave Rublev a leg up to a 5-3 lead.
But those missteps shouldn’t overshadow what was a highly entertaining match. As if to summarise the quality of the match, the penultimate point brought the Centre Court crowd to its feet.
After an extended rally Bublik hit what he thought was a down-the-line backhand winner, letting out a celebratory roar. But Rublev somehow managed to run it down, slipping to the grass as he flicked a low forehand back into the middle of the court, leaving Bublik stunned and standing motionless.
“It probably was the most lucky shot ever,” Rublev joked in his on-court interview. “I don’t think I can do it one more time.”
Rublev needed to find some of his best tennis to thwart Bublik’s challenge, hitting 52 winners to just 21 unforced errors across the five sets. Bublik hit 67 winners and 52 unforced errors. He also had to overcome the resilience of Bublik, who fought off two match points at 4-5, 15/40 in the third set with big serves and then closed out the game with consecutive aces.
“He was playing unbelievable,” Rublev said. “The way he served, the way he breaks your rhythm. It’s tough to do something because he makes you go for the shot 50/50. On top of that, when he makes a good serve, good couple returns, on grass the match is done.
“I was really happy today when he was shooting really hard that I was able to be focussed, to manage to bring the balls back. In the end we had the drama match. But I was able to win it and I’m really happy.”
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