De Minaur vs Rublev turned on one big swing. Alex de Minaur lost the first set 6-1 on Sunday, then won 6-2, 6-3 to beat Andrey Rublev in the China Open quarterfinals in Beijing. The fifth-seeded Australian moves into the semifinals, ESPN’s results show.
Rublev, from Russia, played the cleaner tennis early. It did not last.
De Minaur vs Rublev: how the comeback happened
Rublev took the opening set 6-1 and looked in control. De Minaur settled in and won the second set 6-2 to level the match. He then took the third 6-3.
The numbers show how complete the turnaround was. After the first set, de Minaur won 12 of the 17 games played. Rublev won five.
Three sets, three scores
- Set 1: Rublev 6-1.
- Set 2: De Minaur 6-2.
- Set 3: De Minaur 6-3.
De Minaur finished with 13 games to Rublev’s 11 over the whole match.
The road to the quarterfinals
Neither player had an easy week. De Minaur beat Mariano Navone 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the first round. He then beat Quentin Halys 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the second round after dropping the opening set. Beating Rublev made it two straight matches in which he won after losing the first set.
Rublev beat Tallon Griekspoor in three sets in the first round and Roman Safiullin 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round.
Next for De Minaur
De Minaur plays Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals. ESPN lists the match as scheduled for Monday in Beijing. Hurkacz reached the last four by beating Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 6-2. Full results are on the ATP Tour site, and you can see each player’s season on ESPN: de Minaur and Rublev.
De Minaur has been through tough spots before. Read our reports on his win over Cameron Norrie at Monte Carlo and his upset loss to Matteo Arnaldi, or see more in our tennis section.
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