Dubai (Union)
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships champion, Andrei Rublev, succeeded in making a good comeback after the difficulties he faced against Serbian Filip Krajinovic, to book a place for him in the second round of the tournament.
Similarly, Alexander Zverev secured qualification for the next round after winning the match despite losing the first set.
Rublev, the second candidate to win the tournament this week, outperformed his opponent after losing the first set 2-5, to win 11 of the 13 games after that and end the match 7-5, 6-2.
The world number six entered the center court of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium under a storm of applause to begin his campaign to defend the title and become the first player to achieve the championship title for two consecutive years since Roger Federer in 2015. However, his opponent Krajinovic started the match with an outstanding performance to succeed in breaking serve directly. He continues to play serves for this group for about half an hour.
When asked what was going through his mind as he faced these difficulties at the start of the match, the 2021 gold medalist said: “So many crazy thoughts. Philip is one of my best friends and it’s always been difficult for us to meet. He started the match with a great performance, and it was never easy to face him.”
He added, “I succeeded in improving my performance, and I was able to turn the score around and end the match with this good result.”
Rublev’s performance, who aspires to achieve his sixth title in the ATP Tour tournaments, developed gradually, and succeeded in hitting eight aces and turning the result of four out of six break points in his favor. In the next round, Rublev will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated Tunisian Malek Jaziri, in a match that was the last for the Arab star, who announced his retirement after a busy career that spanned more than two decades.
In the opening match, the main court of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium witnessed a match in which Australian Thansi Kokkinakis defeated his opponent, Quentin Hales, in two straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (9).
In fact, Zverev and his Czech rival Jiri Lijeska were the only players who needed to play all three sets on the opening day on Center Court, as Lijeska produced a strong performance that allowed him to win the first set, before the German, ranked 16th in the world, returned after a long period of injuries, in Improving his performance to win the second and third sets and book a place for him in the second round after the match ended with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Commenting on this topic, Zverev, the seventh candidate to win the tournament this week, said: “It was clearly not a good match for me, especially in the first set, however, it was very important that I achieve this return in the result. I had to find a way to win, especially at the stage I am in now, and I am happy for my success in achieving this goal, and I am confident that I will perform at a better level in the next match.
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