Andrey Rublev faced a very stern test at the Hamburg Open just days after winning the Bastad Open trophy, and he barely made it through.
Berbabe Zapata Miralles is a very good player on clay, proving it many times so far in his career. He pushed Rublev very hard in this one which just proves how strong he can be when he has that baseline game working. The forehand, in particular, is very dangerous, and Rublev struggled with it though the Russian didn't play the cleanest of matches anyways.
He just won a trophy in Bastad and celebrated heavily with footage of his escapades in the club going viral. The Russian made the short trip to Hamburg to a venue where he lifted the trophy already in the past. It was a tough match, a very tough opening set that turned oddly towards the end of it.
Rublev was up a break in that one and seemed in full control of the match but that didn't happen as Miralles managed a sensational comeback leaving everybody in attendance stunned. It was just a set that Rublev let go after dropping his focus.
As soon as he got back to doing what he's doing best we saw what happened. A swift 6-1 set for the Russian, who looked to keep that momentum going in the final set. The final set was a spectacular one from Miralles. He was super good, not giving a single break point to Rublev. He even had early break points but after failing to get it done, he wouldn't see another one.
We ended up in a very close tiebreak which went longer past the usual 12 points. Despite facing three match points, Rublev held his nerve to come back each time and ultimately win 9-7 in the tiebreak. A rollercoaster of a match but a much-needed win for the Russian. Final score 5-7 6-1 7-6(7).
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