Andrey Rublev thrived on a chilly, rainy day, with the sixth seed completing a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Alex Molcan before the weather settled in for the afternoon at the Rome Masters.
The winner could not help but lightly gloat after completing his trip into the third round in 79 minutes with 17 winners and 16 unforced errors in the atypical wintery conditions.
Though the Pietrangelli clay was heavy and slow, that’s exactly how Rublev says he likes it – not exactly a universal opinion among his peers.
“I’m happy I was able to finish before rain, I can rest now,” the satisfied winner said.
“”I don’t have to stress about waiting for the weather.”
He added after a match played in drizzle and briefly interrupted in the opening set: “I was lucky to finish before the rain (began in earnest).
“Most of the others had not even played.”
The seed was pleased with his progress in the atrocious conditions which he said were of great benefit to him.
“I played well, I like slow courts and this kind of weather. The clay is so slow that it gives me a lot of time (between shots).”
Rublev earned his second win over Slovak Molcan in as many months after winning their first encounter last month in Banja Luka.
Main photo:- Andry Rublev winning in Rome by Corinne Dubreuil/ATPTour
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