Last week’s Madrid Mutua Open Andrey Rublev rallied from one set down to beat Marcos Giron 5-7 6-4 7-5 after a hard-fought match under the floodlights of the Foro Italico reaching the third round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Giron converted his second break point in the ninth game of the first set to take a 5-4 lead. Rublev saved three set points before breaking serve at deuce in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5. Giron broke for the second time in the 11th game and served out at 30 to win the first set 7-5.
Rublev broke serve in the second game and held serve at 30 to open up a 3-0 lead at the start of the second set. Giron broke back in the ninth game for 4-5, as Rublev was serving for the set. Rublev broke for the second time in the 10th game to win the second set 6-4.
Giron rallied from a break down in the third set and broke for the second time in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead. Rublev broke for the second time at love in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5, when Rublev was serving for the match. Rublev broke serve on his third match point in the 12th game to seal the third set 7-5.
Rublev will face Alexandre Muller, who Arthur Fils 7-5 6-3.
“I was super angry with myself that I left a lot of emotions out today, and was thinking that: ‘It’s over and I deserve to lose’. I was thinking it was over and I thinking again I had a lot of chances, and I could not make it because of my emotions. Somehow, I was able to start the game really well when my opponent served for the match and little by little I was able to recover, so I was able to recover”, said Rublev.
Stefanos Tstitsipas also came back from one set down to beat Jan Lennard Struff 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-4.
Struff earned an early break after a 5-minute first game in the opening set. Tsitsipas smashed his racket against an advertsment board. Tsitsipas broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4 forcing the first set to the tie-break. Struff earned three mini-breaks to race out to a 5-1 lead. Tsitsipas pulled one of three breaks back for 1-5. Struff earned a fourth mini-break to seal the tie-break 7-1.
Tsitsipas broke serve in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. Struff broke straight back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Tsitsipas broke again in the fifth game and held serve at love to take a 4-2 lead. Struff saved three break points in the seventh game for 3-4. Tsitsipas served out the second set at 15.
Tsitsipas took an early break in the first game of the third set, but Struff pulled it back in the second game in a hard-fought battle. Struff saved four break points in the third game to hold serve after five deuces. Tsitsipas broke serve in the fifth game at 30 to take a 3-2 lead. Struff earned three break points, but Tsitsipas held serve for 4-2. The Greek player served out the win on his first match point.
Tsitsipas set up a match against Cameron Norrie, who beat Jaume Munar 6-3 1-6 6-3.
Last year’s Rome Masters 1000 finalist Holger Rune beat Luca Nardi 6-4 6-4 after 1 hour and 42 minutes in the final match of the day. Rune saved all break points he faced during the match.
Rune converted his third break point in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He served out the first set with a hold at love in the 10thgame.
Rune saved six break points in the fourth game to hold serve at deuce before breaking serve at 15 to take a 3-2 lead. Rune held on his next service games and served out on his second match point in the 10th game. Rune will take Sebastian Baez in the next round. The Dane leads 2-1 in his previous head-to-match against his Argentine opponent. At last year’s indoor hard court tournament in Basel Rune beat Baez 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.