Rublev, Nakashima earn Cincinnati victories, set rematch

Andrey Rublev and Brandon Nakashima continued their impressive form on Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where they both earned wins to reach the third round and set a Montreal rematch.

Rublev overcame Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his fifth win in six matches. The No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season in Montreal last week and quickly adjusted to the conditions in Ohio against Zhang.

Rublev hammered 23 winners and committed just five unforced errors to triumph after 61 minutes, improving to 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Forehand ? in Cincinnati!@tennis_insights | #ShotQuality pic.twitter.com/F1pSJqIBGn

Rublev, who is chasing his third title of the season this week, will next play Nakashima after the American defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils  7-5, 7-6(3) in one hour and 50 minutes.

The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champ upset Taylor Fritz in the first round in Cincinnati and backed that up against Fils by saving all six break points he faced.

Nakashima beat Top 15 star Tommy Paul en route to the third round in Montreal last week, before he fell to Rublev. The 23-year-old, currently No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, will aim to earn revenge when he takes on Rublev in the third round in Ohio.

In other action, Hungarian Fabian Marozsan upset World No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to improve his impressive ATP Masters 1000 record to 17-7. Marozsan now holds a 5-5 record against Top 10 players.

The 24-year-old will meet 12th seed Ben Shelton or Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round.

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