"Both of us deserved to win": Andrey Rublev outlasts Alexei Popyrin in Cincinnati nailbiter

Former Cincinnati Open finalist Andrey Rublev is back in the round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 event. But not before fighting his way through a three-and-a-half hour battle.

The No. 9 seed rallied to edge out 21st-seeded Alexei Popyrin, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5. While Popyrin served 20 aces and Rublev nearly matched him with 18, an unexpected late break swung the match in the Russian’s favor.

“I was trying to fight, to keep believing. In the end, somehow out of nowhere at 6-5, 30-0 for him, I make amazing returns. I was able to break him,” Rublev told Prakash Amritraj during a live interview on Tennis Channel.

“Both of us deserved to win.”

As Rublev notes, he’s been on a revenge tour of sorts in his latest appearance at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. In the second round, he flipped the script on Learner Tien after the American took a recent encounter in Washington, D.C. His win over Popyrin marked Rublev’s first match against the Australian since coming out on the losing end of their 2024 Montreal final.

Another shot at wiping away a disappointing 2024 defeat awaits next. Francisco Comesana, who shocked Rublev in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon, himself battled back to sink Reilly Opelka, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5.

“It’s gonna be a great challenge for me, because I lost to him the only time we played each other last year in Wimbledon. Looks like this tournament, the draw are rematches,” he said. “First match with Tien, today with Alexei, now again Comesana. I am facing all the players that I lost to. Let’s see where I can get.”

Much has been made about the new-look event, a long-time staple of southern Ohio, after the complex used its proverbial off-season to undergo a massive facelift. Count Rublev in among the players to take notice of the work that elevated this year’s Cincinnati Open to another level.

“It’s a huge upgrade. A huge example of the tournaments on how they can improve the facilities. I don’t know about the investments. For me, Cincinnati even without those upgrades, it was good,” the 27-year-old believes.

“The restaurant and the food is crazy. I like it a lot that you don’t need to spend money. You scan your accreditation and that’s it. Sometimes it’s not easy when you have a big team.”

Often one to infuse a dose of humor during an interview, Rublev joked with Amritraj, “If they will find a hotel the same level, it would be even better!”