ATP Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev, Gael Monfils, Andrey Rublev advance

World no. 256 Ernests Gulbis had to qualify for the main draw at the Australian Open and he still stands strong, beating Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes. With no Grand Slam wins since Wimbledon 2018, Ernests has found the form again in Melbourne, firing 13 aces against the Slovenian and losing 19 points in his service games to fend off all eight break chances. On the other hand, he broke Bedene four times, controlling the pace from the closing stages of the opening set to seal the deal in straights and set Gael Monfils clash. Gulbis closed the opener with a late break at 6-5, delivering another break in the sixth game of the second set and saving the best tennis for the third set to race towards the finish line. Gael needed two hours and 32 minutes to beat the Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 to find himself in the last 32 for the tenth time.

There were only three breaks of serve in the entire clash and Gael grabbed two in sets three and four that pushed him towards the finish line, suffering a break in the first game of the match and serving better after that to keep the pressure on Ivo. The veteran had a set point in the second set tie break that could have pushed him closer to the finish line, missing it and losing the edge in the rest of the encounter to finish his journey in the second round. The 4th seed Daniil Medvedev took down the Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 in two hours and nine minutes, firing 19 aces and hitting 40 winners and 25 unforced errors overall. Martinez stayed in touch in the opening set, breaking Daniil once before the Russian restored the order, finishing the job before the tie break and having the upper hand in sets two and three to advance into the third round for the second straight year.

The 20-year-old Alexei Popyrin has repeated the result from last year, beating Jaume Munar 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 in two hours and four minutes. With 51 winners and 34 mistakes by his name, Alexei kept the points on his racquet and fended off all four break chances to mount the pressure on the Spaniard who couldn't repeat the same numbers. Popyrin broke him twice in sets one and three each, prevailing in the second set to seal the deal in straight sets and march into the next round where he plays against Daniil Medvedev. The 17th seed Andrey Rublev can't stop winning in 2020, toppling Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 53 minutes for a perfect 10-0 score at the beginning of the season! Andrey blasted 20 aces and lost only four points behind the initial shot, never facing a break point and delivering 51 winners with 36 errors. The Japanese couldn't do much against an in-form rival in sets one and two, finding his shots in the third but losing it in the tie break to send the youngster into the third round for the second time here in Melbourne.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2NTUmzd