11 and counting: Rublev’s hot run
MELBOURNE: Andrey Rublev’s “amazing” unbeaten start to the season showed no signs of slowing on Saturday, with the Russian young gun rallying from a set down to dump 11th seed David Goffin from the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old extended his unbeaten streak to 11 games, beating the Belgian 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to secure a place in the fourth round.
He will next face seventh seed Alexander Zverev, who dismissed Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, in a bid to make his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park. The 17th seed said he was trying hard not to think about how many times he had won, but kept getting reminded about by the media. “To be honest, I was not even thinking about it, how many matches I win, how many matches I lose. It’s more in the media, they start saying, like, you win 10 matches,” he said.
“Then you start to think, wow, I won 10 matches. Of course, it’s amazing that I win that many matches in a row. But tennis is this kind of sport that every week is only going to be one winner. Most of the times you’re going to lose every week.”
Rublev came into the Australian Open on the back of winning in Doha and Adelaide, earning him the distinction of being the first man since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to win two titles in the first fortnight of a season.
“Everything is great with the confidence,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not about confidence. When you feel the ball well, okay, it’s amazing. But you cannot control this. Maybe one day you play really good, then second day you’re not playing that good. Then is more about become mentality. The mental side is the most important thing in tennis.”
MONFILS’S ‘HAND FINE’
Gael Monfils dismissed concerns an injured hand was hampering his game on Saturday, saying he was fit and well for his fourthround clash at the Australian Open. Monfils bruised his racquet hand playing a computer game last month but he said the problem didn’t trouble him at all.
“I’m fine. I’m in second week, playing great tennis,” said the Frenchman.