With the pressure on, Andrey Rublev stepped up and delivered Saturday, clawing past Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 2-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(10-7) in a US Open thriller.
In a mammoth clash on Grandstand, the ninth seed battled through an epic 10-minute game on serve to clinch the fourth set. He then recovered from squandering three match points on serve at 5-4 in the decider, eventually advancing after four hours and 10 minutes to reach the fourth round in New York for the fourth time.
The 24-year-old fired 38 winners and let out a roar after sealing his hard-earned win on his fifth match point. Rublev also survived in five sets in his first-round match against Laslo Djere and now holds a 2-1 record in deciding-set matches at the hard-court major.
[ATP APP]
The 24-year-old has improved to 3-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against the Canadian and will next play seventh-seeded Briton Cameron Norrie after the 26-year-old downed Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.
If Rublev can overcome Norrie, he will equal his best performance in New York. The ninth seed enjoyed runs to the quarter-finals in 2017 and 2020, defeating Matteo Berrettini en route to the last eight two years ago.
Rublev is up to sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin following his standout Match Tie-break victory. He has lifted tour-level trophies in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade this season and is seeking his maiden Grand Slam crown this fortnight in New York.
