Russian tennis ace Andrey Rublev has continued his unfortunate streak of not making it past the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam. Despite 10 attempts, the 26 year old was once again defeated at the Australian Open by Jannik Sinner with a score of 6-4 7-6 6-3.
Rublev missed a golden opportunity to level the game in the second set, losing a five-games-to-one lead in a painful manner. This defeat marks the start of 2024 just as he ended 2023 – with a quarter-final exit. Last year, Rublev lost three quarter-final matches at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
If Rublev had managed a comeback, he would have faced Novak Djokovic, the record holder for Grand Slam wins, in the semi-finals. Instead, Italy’s Sinner will challenge the Serbian champion, a match he is eagerly anticipating. “I’m really lucky to face him again,” Sinner said about Djokovic. “This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“I’m happy I can play against the No. 1 in the world. He won here [10] times, so it’s going to be tough. The only thing that I can control is I will give 100 percent, I will fight for every ball and then we will see what the outcome will be.”
Sinner added: “I appreciate it when it’s over, but it’s obviously very tough to play against him [Rublev]. Today was three sets because I could have lost both the first set – he had so many break points and I served really well somehow.”This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“Everything goes so fast and it’s more react[ive], trying to move him more than I do. It’s always a huge pleasure to play here on the court. I really appreciate it and am happy to be in the next round.”
However, there are worries about Sinner’s stomach before his match with Djokovic. Sinner suggested that the temporary problem might have been “something he ate.”
“[I think] there was a bit of air [in my stomach],” Sinner said. “I don’t know what exactly it [was], so we have to check. Maybe it was something I ate before the match. It went away with a bit of time, and in the third set, I didn’t feel anything anymore. Hopefully, it’s going to be okay.”
The winner of Sinner and Djokovic will face either Hubert Hurkacz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, or Carlos Alcaraz. The quarter-finals are set for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
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