Fifth seed Andrey Rublev began his campaign at the Australian Open with a hard-fought victory over Brazil’s Thiago Setboth Wild.
Rublev, who is seeded fifth in this year’s draw, overcame some inspired tennis produced by his opponent to triumph 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6,7-6(10-6), after more than three-and-a-half hours of play. The dramatic encounter saw the Russian get tested both physically and mentally as he let out screams of frustration at times.
“I will not forget this match,” said Rublev.
“Thiago is a super dangerous player and is super talented. When he’s in the right mood and hitting the ball well it is so tough to beat him.”
Rublev looked to be in control early on by easing through the first two sets and then having a series of break points three games into the third. However, Seyboth Wild battled back with the use of some world-class shotmaking that was reminiscent of the tennis he produced during his win over Daniil Medvedev at the French Open last year. In the decider the Russian world No.5 was unable to pull away from his rival, failing to convert a 40-0 lead on the Brazillian’s serve during two separate games. Rublev failed to convert a quartet of match points when leading 6-5 before finding himself down 1-4 in the tiebreak.
Despite the multiple setbacks, he managed to work his way back to secure victory and continue his unbeaten start to the season. Last week he won his 15th Tour title in Hong Kong.
“In my head, a lot of times was Daniil’s match (against Seyboth Wild) at Roland Garros. I was thinking in the fifth set after I already had a lot of opportunities that for sure we will see the same story here.” He said.
“Then when I was losing 4-1 (in the tiebreak) mentally I gave up and maybe that’s what helped me. I hit a few good shots and returns.’
“What makes him so difficult to play is that he serves so hard. He can hit a winner from any position.”
It is the seventh time in Rublev’s career that he has reached the second round of the Australian Open. He will next play either Wimbledon quarter-finalist Chris Eubanks or Taro Daniel.
