Hamburg European Open: Andrey Rublev advances to second round, Borna Coric reaches quarters

HAMBURG: Continuing his love affair with the Hamburg European Open, Russia's Andrey Rublev beat lucky loser Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the tournament, here on Wednesday.

The second seed Rublev hit through the Lithuanian with his precise and powerful groundstrokes and stepped up his intensity in the key moments to shrug off a second-set Berankis comeback and advance after 73 minutes.

Rublev now holds a 10-2 record at the ATP 500 clay-court event, having advanced to the final in 2019, before he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to lift the trophy in his previous appearance in 2020.

With his 32nd tour-level win of the year, the 24-year-old has improved to 3-0 in his ATP Head to Head series against Berankis and will next face Bastad champion Francisco Cerundolo.

Rublev is aiming to win his fourth tour-level title of the season this week in northern Germany. The World No 8 clinched crowns in Marseille, Dubai and Belgrade earlier this year and arrived in Hamburg off the back of a run to the semi-finals on clay in Bastad.

Earlier in the day, Croatian Borna Coric eliminated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-4 to earn consecutive tour-level wins for the first time since March 2021. The 25-year-old, who overcame Laslo Djere in the first round, will play reigning champion Pablo Carreno Busta or Slovakian Alex Molcan in the quarter-finals. IANS

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