ATP Tour

Rublev recovers from second-set mishap to advance in Bastad

Former Nordea Open champion Andrey Rublev passed his first test of the week in Bastad, where he recovered from failing to convert three match points in the second set to eventually triumph 7-6(3), 6-7(7), 6-3 against Andrea Pellegrino.

The top seed held two match points at 6/4 in the second-set tie-break and another at 7/6 but was unable to finish off the Italian on Thursday afternoon. However, Rublev re-found his composure and his destructive forehand to book his spot in his sixth quarter-final of the season after two hours and 33 minutes.

“It was a really tough match and I had a bit of a lack of confidence because I didn’t make good results in the past couple weeks and had not played much tennis in the past couple of weeks,” Rublev said. “This match was very important.”

Rublev lifted the trophy in Bastad in 2023 and was competing for the first time since he suffered an opening-round loss to Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon. The No. 16 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will play eighth seed Sebastian Baez in the last eight. Baez cruised past Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 in 69 minutes.

Pellegrino enjoyed a run to the fourth round at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome in May and eliminated #NextGenATP star Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in his first match in Bastad.

Third seed Alejandro Tabilo joined Rublev in the winners' column on Thursday when he survived Argentinian qualifier Lautaro Midon 6-4, 5-7(5), 6-4 to book his quarter-final spot.

Midon looked poised for an upset win in the third set in which he held an early 3-1 advantage, but Tabilo immediately regrouped and broke back to get back on serve. The Chilean then broke again at 4-4 to put the match on his racquet and served it out to reach his fourth quarter-final of the season.

“It was a very tough match. I knew it was going to be like that coming in," Tabilo said. "Lautaro plays very well, we played earlier this year and it was also a tough battle, so I’m sure we are going to see a lot of him in the future. But I'm just really happy I was able to stay in it mentally.".

Next up for the World No. 31 Tabilo will be a last-eight showdown with Thiago Agustin Tirante, who reached his fourth tour-level quarter-final with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win against Nikoloz Basilashvili at the ATP 250 clay-court tournament. The 25-year-old Tirante has fond memories in Bastad, having enjoyed a semi-final showing in 2024.