Andrey Rublev maintained his perfect start to the clay-court swing on Friday when he defeated Bosnian wild card Damir Dzumhur 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals at the Srpska Open.
The second seed lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo last week and has continued to play aggressive, front-foot tennis in Banja Luka.
Rublev, who dispatched Juan Pablo Varillas in his opening match, overcame a tough test from home favourite Dzumhur, who was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final of the year. He railed from 2-5 in the first set, saving one set point at 4-5, before he fended off all four break points he faced in the second set to earn his seventh consecutive win after one hour and 52 minutes.
"We have always had tough battles and today was the same," Rublev said. "I was losing 2-5 and I was able to come back. It was a tough match. A lot of long games and a lot of long rallies but in the end I was able to win and that is the most important thing."
With his 20th win of the season, Rublev improved to 5-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Dzumhur. Seeking his 14th tour-level title and fifth on clay, the World No. 6 will next face Alex Molcan.
The Slovakian Molcan defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to reach his first tour-level semi-final of the season. The 25-year-old is up 16 spots to No. 57 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.
The second seed lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo last week and has continued to play aggressive, front-foot tennis in Banja Luka.
Rublev, who dispatched Juan Pablo Varillas in his opening match, overcame a tough test from home favourite Dzumhur, who was competing in his first tour-level quarter-final of the year. He railed from 2-5 in the first set, saving one set point at 4-5, before he fended off all four break points he faced in the second set to earn his seventh consecutive win after one hour and 52 minutes.
"We have always had tough battles and today was the same," Rublev said. "I was losing 2-5 and I was able to come back. It was a tough match. A lot of long games and a lot of long rallies but in the end I was able to win and that is the most important thing."
With his 20th win of the season, Rublev improved to 5-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Dzumhur. Seeking his 14th tour-level title and fifth on clay, the World No. 6 will next face Alex Molcan.
The Slovakian Molcan defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to reach his first tour-level semi-final of the season. The 25-year-old is up 16 spots to No. 57 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.