Rublev beats Molcan in Rome

The Russian wants more. Andrey Rublev gets a good victory against Alex Molcan in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Rome.

tournament bracket

tournament results

The second round of Rome Masters 1000 he faced two players with different aspirations in this tournament. Andrey Rublev He arrived in Italy after losing in the round of 16 in Madrid and winning the doubles tournament with his friend Khachanov. Alex Molcan they fell in the second round in the Spanish capital, but in this tournament they beat the local Neapolitan in the tiebreaker of the third set. The face to face favored the Russian, who won the only match between them last month and was favorite again.

Rublev takes the first

The match started even, with both adjusting to the surface and warming up after the delay in the match. This worsened even more after going through the changing rooms after the first game, which put the Russian ahead. The set passed quietly, with no break options until the sixth game. Rublev became strong and broke with a right cross before his rival’s half court position. Finally, and after winning his two serving turns, Andrey closed with a backwards serve from Molcan, which he could not return and the score went up to 6-3. Rublev made the most of the only chances that were given in the entire set and took the lead on the scoreboard.

Andrey closes the match

The second set began in a very even way, with both having options to break but without achieving it. The servers took the service forward while trying to hurt the return to get the advantage. However, it was not until the final bars of the partial that the break occurred and it ended up in the hands of the Russian. With the four of a kind on the scoreboard, Molcan missed a forehand that cost him the service and, ultimately, the game. Finally, Rublev closed the match with a backhand from his rival that touched the lowest part of the net.