Russian Andrey Rublev held the second four-hour marathon at the US Open.
Already in the opening match of the tournament with Serb Laszlo Jere, he had to play all five sets.
Andrei led 2-0 in sets, but then he lost the advantage and only snatched victory in the decisive game segment.
The meeting of the third round with Denis Shapovalov followed a similar scenario and became a real thriller.
None of the athletes could expect an easy walk from this match: their strengths are approximately equal, they met each other more than once and even trained together.
In addition, Russian Mikhail Youzhny is working with the Canadian tennis player.
As Elena Vesnina noted on the eve of the meeting, the main task for Andrey in this confrontation is to cope with nerves.
“Denis is also left-handed, which will add complexity for Rublev.
Still, there are not many matches on the tour when you have to intersect with left-handers.
So for a Russian, this is a kind of challenge: you need to show your status, the level of the game, ”Match TV quotes Vesnina as saying.
The first set was left for the 11th racket of the world, although the Russian almost gave the opponent the starting game on his serve, but then he pulled himself together and made a break in the tenth game - 6:4.
The domestic tennis player played the second game noticeably worse: his first serve did not fly, and the opponent, on the contrary, adjusted this element.
Shapovalov made seven aces in a set, while the Russian did not get a single one.
The logical result is 6:2 in favor of the Canadian.
The third party also remained with Denis, although for this he needed to make much more effort and win a tie-break.
The fourth set turned out to be very emotional.
Rublev first led with a break, but then allowed the opponent to level the score.
After taking out his anger on the racket, Andrei began to play more collectedly and once again took Shapovalov's serve.
Now it's the Canadian's turn to get nervous.
The game on the pitch of the Russian lasted for ten minutes.
Denis played four set points, but on the fifth attempt, the Russian still coped with the task and equalized the score in batches.
Tennis players came to the decisive set exhausted both physically and psychologically.
Both earned break points, but until a certain point they could not be realized.
Instead, both Andrei and Denis made many unforced errors, and the Russian even made three doubles, although in the previous four sets he made only one effective misfire on the pitch.
Nevertheless, it was Rublev who managed to make the first break.
He took the opponent's serve in the ninth game and went to serve for the match.
The Russian was leading with a score of 40:15, but missed three match points - and the meeting turned into a tie-break to ten points.
In this playing segment, Shapovalov's game went wrong, while Andrei, on the contrary, was as concentrated as possible.
He again earned three match points and this time brought the matter to an end.
After the final mistake of the Canadian, the winner fell to the court in an attempt to catch his breath and recover.
“It was a crazy match.
Obviously, Denis also deserved to win.
As we all know, he deserves to win.
We both deserve to win.
In such matches, in my opinion, there is no winner.
But this is a game, so he still has to decide.
I am very happy that I managed to win, although I did not manage to finish with a score of 6:4 when I served for the match, and with several match points.
I am even more proud of myself that even after such a moment I was able to win the match, ”said the Russian.
He admitted that, having missed three match points, he was extremely upset, but set himself up to fight to the end.
According to Andrei, if he lost the final set 5:7, it would be a double blow for him.
“So I was just saying to myself, ‘Just finish the match.
Do everything in your power.
When you leave the court, you shouldn't have any regrets."
In the end, I managed to win.
Now I am doubly pleased with myself, ”the tennis player emphasized.
Andrey will compete with the seventh racket of the tournament, Cameron Norrie, for reaching the quarterfinals.
The Briton has not yet lost a single set at this US Open.
In the third round match, he dealt with the strong Dane Holger Rune without any problems - 7:5, 6:4, 6:1.
The last meeting between Rublev and Norrie ended in favor of the Briton, and, according to the Russian, the upcoming match will also be difficult.
“His game forces you to take extra shots, take extra risks.
When you do this, you usually miss points.
He moves great.
So it will be a tough match.
Long draws, struggle of characters.
The match will be physically exhausting.
He demonstrates smart tennis, so to win, you need to play really smart, ”concluded the Russian.