Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Russia’s Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 Series tournament in Dubai.
The Olympic champion Zverev, who is seeded at number 7, won 7:5, 6:4 over the Australian Christopher O’Connell in exactly 80 minutes of play. He hit 11 aces in the match and didn’t concede a single break, while also hitting 30 winners.
Andrey Rublev, who is number 2 seeded, managed a small miracle saving five consecutive match points in the second set of the match with the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and eventually won it 1:6, 7:6(6), 7:6(3).
Save 5 match points in a row? Rublev sorts it in the second set tiebreak 😮💨⁰
The defending champion advances in Dubai, taking the win against Davidovich Fokina after a three set thriller 💪@ddftennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/dXsWeRbux6— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 1, 2023