Rublev converts 8th MP in dramatic Doha win over De Minaur

Andrey Rublev may have taken the scenic route on Thursday, but the former champion is back in the semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.

The fifth seed dug deep for a dramatic 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(8) triumph over second seed Alex de Minaur, in which he let slip seven match points before crossing the line. Rublev, the 2020 Doha champion, squandered a 5-2 lead in the final set after De Minaur came up with some trademark scrambling to force a tie-break. Yet the 27-year-old regrouped in remarkable fashion, saving a match point himself, to seal his first win over a Top 10 player since August last year.

“When I had my first match point, I played really well,” said Rublev after his two-hour, 37-minute win. “I did everything amazing and he just played an unreal rally. He made the backhand down the line and I played a good volley. Then he makes a forehand pass down the line. In most of the matches, normally after these points, they win - it’s a turning [point].

“I then started to get a bit more tight and more emotional, I was a bit unlucky. Then when I lost my serve, I said ‘Okay, whatever, if I'm gonna lose, at least just try to do your best until the end'.”

What. A. Match 🤯@AndreyRublev97 battles hard past Alex de Minaur in an INCREDIBLE tiebreak 6-1 3-6 7-6(8) ! See you in the semis 👋#QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/YJTY1gbnoy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 20, 2025

After levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with De Minaur at 4-4, Rublev is into his fourth semi-final in Doha. The No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who advanced after Daniil Medvedev was forced to retire from their quarter-final clash with food poisoning.

De Minaur’s notably improved serve deserted him in the opening set, during which Rublev commanded from the baseline and exploited the 46 per cent (12/26) of first serves that the Australian landed, according to Infosys ATP Stats, with his aggressive return position. The 26-year-old seemed to have rediscovered his form at the right time, however, once he rallied from 2-5 to force a deciding-set tie-break.

It would have been easy for Rublev to lose control after he squandered seven match points, including two on his own serve, at 5-3 in the final set and 8/7 in the tie-break. Yet the former champion kept his cool and continued to apply pressure from the baseline, which was ultimately key to his victory.

“I know this feeling of saving some matches like that,” said Rublev when asked of De Minaur’s response to the match-point saves. “When you save one crazy match point out of nowhere that looks like the match is done, and then it starts to turn around. You start to have this focus that helps you a lot. You're not stressed anymore, and the other guy starts to stress, he starts to rush. I know how it is because I've been in this situation. So that's why when I started to stress and I lost myself I was like, ‘Okay, at least just fight until the end'.”