A firm Rublev continues ahead in Stockholm | ATP Tour

Stockholm

A firm Rublev continues ahead in Stockholm

Stan Wawrinka also won

October 17, 2024

When Andrey Rublev accelerates, his tennis usually makes the difference with the vast majority of rivals on the Tour, and that was what the first seed achieved this Thursday, when he debuted with a resounding 6-4, 6-1 victory over Alexandre Muller at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open.

Rublev did not blink throughout the match, in which he hit 17 winners and saved all three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Rublev is currently eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, leading ninth-placed Alex de Minaur by just 275 points in an absorbing battle for qualification.

Meanwhile, he will now look for a place in the semifinals against Stan Wawrinka, who continued adding scrolls this Thursday: for more than 20 seasons on the ATP Tour he goes a long way. And at 39 years old, the Swiss continues to record new marks in his career and has now reached the quarterfinals in Stockholm.

The former world No. 3 beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the ATP 250 in Stockholm in a close match that went his way in two hours and 12 minutes 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Wawrinka secured his first presence of the course in the quarterfinals, after combining two victories in the same tournament for the first time since last year at the US Open (he reached the third round). The Swiss, who has a match record of 576-360, has already accumulated 112 quarterfinals on the circuit, although he had not gone this far in a tournament since Umag 2023.

At the beginning of the day, Miomir Kecmanovic cut Nicolás Jarry’s progress in Swedish territory, where he had never lost a game. The Serbian managed to win in a dramatic final 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) in two hours and 21 minutes.

Jarry had won all six of his matches so far in Sweden, capturing his first ATP crown at Bastad 2019 on clay and reaching the second round in Stockholm.

Kecmanovic will face No. 4 seed Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, who this Wednesday had already defeated fellow Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere 6-2, 7-6(2).

Did you know that…?
Stan Wawrinka became the oldest quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament, surpassing Ivo Karlovic, who in 2016 had reached this round at the age of 37. It is the second time that the Swiss has advanced to the quarterfinals (2010).