Alex de Minaur rallies past Rublev to reach China Open semi-finals
Australia’s Alex de Minaur recovered from a poor opening set to defeat Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 and reach the China Open semi-finals in Beijing. He will face Hubert Hurkacz, while the other semi-final features Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.
Alex de Minaur has reached the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing after recovering from a slow start to defeat Andrey Rublev in three sets. The fifth-seeded Australian overcame the Russian 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours. De Minaur will next face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the final.
Rublev dominated the opening set, breaking de Minaur in his first service game and building a 3-0 lead. A second break put him 5-1 ahead before he served out the set. De Minaur changed the momentum in the second set.
He saved two break points in the opening game, then broke Rublev in the fourth game. A further break in the eighth game allowed him to level the match. The Australian saved an early break point in the deciding set before breaking immediately to lead 2-0.
Rublev responded by breaking back and holding serve to make it 2-2, but de Minaur secured the decisive break in the eighth game and served out to love. Hurkacz reached the semi-finals by defeating Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. De Minaur has a 3-1 head-to-head record against the world number 39, according to the supplied report.
The other semi-final will feature third seed Daniil Medvedev and sixth seed Novak Djokovic. Medvedev defeated Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Djokovic advanced after overcoming Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Zverev won the first set, but Djokovic levelled the match and then took the deciding set after breaking in the 10th game. The match lasted two hours and 34 minutes.
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