By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, July 27, 2023
Germany's Daniel Altmaier thrilled home fans toppling 2020 champion Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-2 to charge into the Hamburg quarterfinals.
Photo credit: @liljasinstagram-NordeaTennisOpenFacebook
Andrey Rublev denied three match points in his Hamburg opener yesterday.
The second-seeded Rublev met his match on the red clay today.
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Germany's Daniel Altmaier thrilled home fans toppling 2020 champion Rublev 6-2, 6-2 to charge into the Hamburg quarterfinals.
The 61st-ranked Altmaier reached his first Hamburg quarterfinal and first Tour-level quarterfinal since he made the last eight in Madrid in May.
Bastad champion Rublev was playing for his second straight clay-court crown after sweeping Casper Ruud in the Bastad final last Sunday. Rublev had won 9 of his last 10 matches with his lone loss in that span a Wimbledon quarterfinal setback to Novak Djokovic.
In his first meeting with the world No. 7, Altmaier broke for a 2-1 lead then broke again for 5-2 before serving out the set with his second love hold of the set.
Whipping his one-handed backhand with damaging effect, Altmaier broke to start the second set, broke again for 5-2 and served out a sharp 74-minute win.
Altmaier pumped seven aces, won 23 of 27 first-serve points and saved both break points he faced.
Earlier, top-seeded Casper Ruud rebounded from a horrific start conquering qualifier Cristian Garin 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Two-time Roland Garros finalist Ruud broke twice in succession to start the final set surging out to a 4-0 lead in the decider before wrapping a 100-minute win. Ruud was better on big points: He saved 8 of 11 break points and converted 4 of 5 break-point chances.
Ruud, who has reached at least the quarterfinals in his last five clay-court tournaments, raised his record to 28-14 on the season with 22 of those 28 victories coming on his beloved dirt.
Next up for Ruud is a quarterfinal clash vs. 19-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils.
World No. 71 Fils defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 7-5. Fils, who has won all 12 of his Tour-level matches in 2023, reached his first Tour-level quarterfinal since he defeated Francisco Cerundolo to capture the Lyon title last May.
Reigning Hamburg champion Lorenzo Musetti improved to a perfect 9-0 lifetime in Hamburg rallying past lucky loser Jozef Kovalik 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a match that began on Wednesday with Kovalik holding a 6-3, 1-4 lead before play was suspended.
The No. 3-seeded Musetti meets Laslo Djere for a semifinal spot.