Wimbledon: Andrey Rublev rallies past Aslan Karatsev; Zverev, Berrettini advance
Jul 06, 2023
London [UK], July 6 : Andrey Rublev dug deep to register a second-round win over Aslan Karatsev 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the R3 in the ongoing Wimbledon 2023 on Wednesday.
Rublev recovered brilliantly after dropping the opening set to defeat World No. 50 Karatsev in two hours and 52 minutes on Court 2. The 25-year-old recorded the solitary break of service in the second and third sets before overcoming a late wobble on serve to even the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.
Rublev was broken while serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set by Karatsev, but made no mistake the second time around at 6-5 to move to the third round at Wimbledon for the second time. Wild card David Goffin or qualifier Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera will face him in his effort to match his personal best performance at the grass-court major, a fourth-round run in 2021.
Elsewhere, Liam Broady earned the biggest win of his career Thursday at Wimbledon, where he stunned fourth seed Casper Ruud in five sets to reach the second round for the second consecutive year. The Briton stunned the home crowd with a sensational last two sets to win 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and go to the third round for the second year in a row.
"When I went to bed last night, I was having a think about what I'd say if I won the match, and I don't really know what to say now. It's a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out on Centre Court at Wimbledon. It's been my dream since I was five years old," said Broady in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.com
On Thursday, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini both tasted success in their respective matches. Both players advanced to the second round after completing their long-awaited openers at the All-England Club.
Zverev, the 19th seed, shined in his first appearance at The Championships this year. He defeated Dutchman Gijs Brouwer 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to go to the second round at Wimbledon for the sixth time in seven outings.
Berrettini and his countryman Lorenzo Sonego appeared in court for the third day in a row. To finish their first-round match. Berrettini held a two-set lead overnight, and the 2021 finalist won 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(7), 6-3 on Court 12 in a match that started on Tuesday afternoon.
