Hamburg European Open: Andrey Rublev Survives Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles early scare to reach next round 

Andrey Rublev came back from the brink on Wednesday at the Hamburg European Open, where he saved three match points to claw past Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(7).

The second seed recovered from a slow start at the ATP 500 clay-court event, finding his best level deep in the third set to fend off Zapata Miralles, who was chasing his first Top 10 win of the season. Rublev rallied from 4/6 in the third-set tie-break and saved his third match point at 6/7 with a blistering forehand winner. The 25-year-old raised his arms aloft after winning the two-hour, 53-minute first-round thriller.

“The feeling was that I was playing well and it was under control, but somehow I lost the first set and was frustrated,” Rublev said. “I came back and recovered mentally and won a really good second set. The third set was tough. I started to get tired and nervous, because the score is going to the tie-break and I didn’t have many chances to break him.

“The feeling was that he deserved to win. He was fighting like crazy from tough scores. When I went 0/3, I started to stress a lot. But then I played two amazing rallies and told myself to keep fighting, keep fighting… It is amazing I was able to win.”

The World No. 7 has now won five consecutive matches after clinching his second tour-level title of the season at the ATP 250 in Bastad last week. He will aim to continue his run when he meets Yannick Hanfmann or Zhang Zhizhen in the second round.

Rublev, who saved all four break points he faced in the third set against Zapata Miralles, holds fond memories in Hamburg, having triumphed at the tournament in 2020. He also reached the final in 2019.

In other action, Serbian Laslo Djere overcame Guido Pella 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours. The World No. 57, who struck eight aces, will meet defending champion Lorenzo Musetti or Jozef Kovalik in the third round.