Rublev advances after avenging Evans
Andrey Rublev avenged a recent straight sets loss to Dan Evans in convincing fashion, advancing through to the fourth round with a 6-4 6-2 6-3 victory.
Rublev's serve was the dominant force in the match, not conceding a single break as he saved all four of Evans's break point opportunities.
He finished with 10 aces to Evans's three, and created 15 break point opportunities of his own, securing four.
When speaking to the media after his win, Rublev said his recent defeat against Evans in July's Montreal Open was still fresh in his mind and he was thrilled to turn the tables this time.
"I'm happy with my game today, especially because last time I lost to him in straight sets," he said. "So I took the revenge.
"I'm really happy – I mean, the first set wasn't amazing, but was not that bad. I was just serving well, I was not doing something special.
"As soon as I was able to win the first set, I started to feel a relief, I started to feel more confident, I started to feel I can go for extra speed to raise a level.
"As soon as I did it, I started to feel even more confident, because I started to feel that this game, he cannot control. He was not able to do something – he started to stress more, and I started to feel it."
Rublev has never been past the quarter-finals of a grand slam, and when asked what has been holding him back, he said it was obvious.
"It's easy, and I think it's obvious – it's the mental part," he said. "That's it. Because game-wise, I think I have a good game to fight against top players, to play and compete."
The world No.6 will play world No.10 Holger Rune in the fourth round, with a place in the last eight on the line.
Rublev feels he is just as dangerous as his 19-year-old opponent because they both have "nothing to lose".
"He's a young guy, super talented," Rublev said. "He has nothing to lose for the moment, because he was going from underdog position all the time.
"But this year, we'll see. It's going to be challenging for him, and I have nothing to lose against him next time, because he was the one who won our first match, so he will feel a bit of pressure."
