Andrey Rublev had to work to finally overcome stubborn resistance from Alex de Minaur, finally defeating the Australian 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Doha tournament.
Fifth seed Rublev, the 2020 champion here, needed eight match points to advance over the Australian seeded second. He also saved a match point for the Aussie in the late-match struggle.
Victory marked his first win over a top 10 player since last August when he beat Jannik Sinner in Montreal
The pair now stand 4-4 in their career series , with Rublev into his fourth semi-final here.
Rublev credited de inaur with fighting hard, especially during the epic ending.
“Alex saved match points with extraordinary tennis,” he said. ”I know this feeling. I’ve been in this situation.
“That’s why when I started to stress and lost my serve, I was like okay at least fight til the end… I don’t know, I wanna punch him,” he joked.
He added that after saving a match point, “you’re not stressed any more, the other guy starts to stress.”
Rublev next faces Felix Auger-Aliassime, moved ahead as Daniil Medvedev retired after losing their opening set 6-3.
Main photo:- Andrey Rublev beating Alex de Minaur – by Qatar Tennis
