World No 7 Andrey Rublev pulled off a straight sets win over Yannick Hanfmann to reach the Halle grass-court quarterfinals on Thursday, avenging a shock defeat to the German in Rome last month.
Rublev, the runner-up in 2021, came through against his 53rd-ranked rival 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Hanfmann had led 5/3 in the tiebreak but was unable to push on and repeat his last-16 win on the Rome clay on the eve of the French Open.
“The important thing was I was able to win against a tough player like Yannick,” said Rublev.
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“The last time he beat me and he’s playing better and better. Especially on grass, he’s even tougher to play against because he has such a good serve and a good game at the net.”
Rublev will be playing in his sixth quarterfinal of the season on Friday when he faces either defending champion Hubert Hurkacz or last week’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Tallon Griekspoor.
Despite winning 13 titles, Rublev has yet to capture a grass-court crown.
Jannik Sinner came out on top in an all-Italian clash against Lorenzo Sonego to reach the quarterfinals.
Sinner, ranked at nine in the world, saved all eight break points he faced to clinch a tough 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4 second-round triumph.
Sinner will next face Alexander Bublik who reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 victory against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Bublik hit 43 winners, including 23 aces as he reached his second quarterfinal of the season.
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