Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop advance to the semifinal in Hamburg

 

2020 champion Andrey Rublev of Russia lost to Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Hamburg European Open at Am Rothenbaum in Hamburg, Germany, on July 21.

Francisco Cerundolo came into Hamburg at the top of his form, having won his maiden title at the Bastad Open the previous week. Andrey Rublev started strong and got a quick 2-4 lead. However, Andrey Rublev burst back into action and clinched four straight games to win the opening set 6-2. The second set went smoothly for the 23-year-old Argentine as he secured his victory after one hour and 33 minutes of play.

In an on-court interview, Francisco Cerundolo said, "I think I played another great match. I felt comfortable on the court. I think in the first three games I didn't play that bad, but he was really solid and didn't miss many balls. Then I started feeling more confident. I think I was very solid today."

Francisco Cerundolo has broken into the Top-30 on the Pepperstone ATP  Rankings, having earned a career-best 19 tour-level wins in the ongoing season, including 13 on clay courts. In contrast, Andrey Rublev has performed consistently and won three tour-level titles this season. However, he failed to match the aggressive and hard-hitting capability of Francisco Cerundolo.

Francisco Cerundolo will face Aslan Karatsev of Russia in a quarterfinal clash on July 22. The 28-year-old Russian bounced back from a set down to win against Daniel Elahi Galán of Colombia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to secure a quarterfinal berth. 

In another men's singles match of the day, Karen Khachanov of Russia advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-3, 7-5 after a hard-fought second set. He served three aces and broke the serve of Fognini three compared to one ace and one breakpoint by his Italian opponent to secure his victory.

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