Andrey Rublev was made to work by Jack Draper at the Madrid Open but eventually prevailed 2-6 6-4 7-5 in their second-round match.
The Brit was handed a wild card into the draw for the Masters 1000 event and stunned the No. 27 seed Lorenzo Sonego with a straight sets victory. He performed admirably against Rublev in only his fifth match at Masters 1000 level.
Draper won a one-sided first set against the world No. 8 – dominating from the baseline as his Russian opponent struggled behind his serve – and secured two breaks, in the second and eighth games of the first set to open up a one-set advantage.
Rublev failed to lay a glove on the Draper serve in the first set, but despite three aces in the first game, the Russian managed to fashion a first break opportunity. And he duly took it with a flat-line forehand.
The second set was a far more competitive affair, and Draper continued to apply pressure to his opponent’s serve and his range of shot-making secured the break back in the sixth, but Rublev would strike again in the ninth game before serving it out to send it to a decider.
The Brit raced to a three-game lead in the third set, but Rublev would hit back in the fifth game to put it back on serve before sealing a decisive break in the 11th game – at the third time of asking – to lead for the first time in the match.
He would then close it out to progress through to the third round, where he could end up meeting another Brit in Dan Evans.
