Andrey Rublev was striving to win his second straight tournament after having an inconsistent start to 2026. He is best on clay, though, and he was the top seed at the Estoril Open in Portugal. Rublev was also a solid favorite in his quarterfinal match against 22-year-old Frenchman Luca van Assche.
Van Assche, after all, had a losing career record entering the match against Rublev, and normally struggled to make it through qualifying at extremely important events. His run to the quarters in Portugal was victory enough.
Or so it seemed. Rublev took the first set easily 6-3, and it seemed as if it was only a matter of minutes before he would leave the court, get some rest, and play the semifinals on Saturday. Instead, the Frenchman began striking the ball arguably better than he ever had at an ATP event and got the only break of the set.
Andrey Rublev didn't see Luca van Assche coming at the Estoril Open
Trying to even the second set 2-all, Rublev kept fighting off break points, but on the fifth, he couldn't. Not only was Van Assche making far fewer errors, but his confidence was building, likely not just with the match, but potentially with his entire career.
After all, sometimes it only takes beating a higher-ranked player, one who used to reside in the top 10, to jumpstart a career. All van Assche needed to do was take the momentum of the second set and transpose it to the third.
He did so with surprising ease. The Frenchman began dominating with his serve, didn't face a break point, but broke Rublev at about the same time in the final set as the second. Rublev appeared as stunned as the tennis fans watching by what was unfolding. Suddenly, van Assche led 3-1, and eventually 5-3.
Rublev wasn't going to make it easy, though, and even got a break point. Van Assche hit a cross-court winner, kept hitting with bombast, and held. He took the final set 6-3 and is a real threat to win the tournament.
Luca Van Assche will next play Hugo Gaston in the semifinals of the Estoril Open. The Frenchman hasn't yet made a final of an ATP event. He likely will in Portugal.
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