Andrey Rublev survives thrilling five-set Milan opener
By Harry Floyd
Andrey Rublev narrowly wins his Next Gen ATP Finals opener in five sets. The young Russian is the top seed this week in Milan.
Andrey Rublev is the top seed at the 2017 Next Generation ATP Finals.
He escapes his opening round robin meeting with Italian tennis player Gianluigi Quinzi. The Russian and top seed takes the match in five sets, winning 1-4, 4-0, 4-3 (3), 0-4, 4-3 (3).
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Rublev, the current world No. 37 on the ATP World Tour, already has an ATP singles title to his name. Earlier this year, he won in Umag. He also reached as high as the world No. 35 ranking this year.
After a lopsided opening set, Andrey Rublev battled back to secure the hard-fought win.
Up next for the young Russian is Chung Hyeon of South Korea. The two rising stars are in action in Milan on Wednesday. Rublev is arguably the favorite to win, but the South Korean has seen success against him already on the ATP World Tour.
Earlier in 2017, Rublev dropped his meeting in Winston-Salem with the South Korean Next Gen star. Anything can happen in the round robin stage of the end of year tournament. Look for another strong match that the top seed cannot take for granted. Quinzi also faces Denis Shapovalov of Canada on Wednesday. He lost his opener against Chung Hyeon.
Next: Top 10 Men's Singles Players
Elsewhere on the ATP World Tour, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer gear up for the end of year finals in London. Next week, the top players in men’s singles tennis compete at The O2 Arena for year-end glory. Federer is a six-time winner at the winner while Nadal remains in search of his first title there. Nadal is, however, the year-end world No. 1 after earning enough points at the 2017 Paris Masters.
Qualifying for the finals in London is German tennis star Alexander Zverev. While he would have headlined the field this week in Milan, the rising star in men’s singles had a phenomenal year on tour. At just 20-years-old, Zverev can make a splash at the end of year finals in London. Look for him to come out strong at one of the biggest tournaments of his career so far. Stay tuned for updates on all of the Next Generation ATP Finals action and then play in London next week. Check back to see how top seed Andrey Rublev fares throughout the rest of his time in Milan.