Andrey Rublev broke a four-match losing streak with a hard-fought opening win Tuesday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. The top seed beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 7-5 for his first victory since he reached the third round at Roland Garros.
At the tournament where he won his first ATP Tour title in 2017, Rublev clinched the result with his fourth break of serve, hitting a rare drop shot winner on match point. He saved two of four break points against him in the one-hour, 46-minute match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
"I think it was a great match. I think it was a lot of good points. Ugo played really well," Rublev said after the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. "I think at the end of the match he started to feel confidence, he started to hit even harder because he had nothing to lose. During the match he raised his level.
"I think it was a good performance from me, as well. I'm happy that I'm here, I'm happy that I won the match, and we'll see what's going to happen next."
Successful match for Rublev 💥
No. 1 seed @AndreyRublev97 advances defeating Ugo Carabelli, breaking his losing streak 6-4 7-5@CroatiaOpenUmag | #CroatiaOpenUmag pic.twitter.com/F4p7F4BrGZ
The No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next meet Fabian Marozsan, who opened his week with a 6-2, 7-6(7) win against Thiago Monteiro.
Italians Luciano Darderi and Fabio Fognini rounded out the Tuesday winners in Umag. The fifth-seeded Darderi beat Duje Ajdukovic 6-1, 6-4, converting all four of his break chances, while Fognini defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche 6-4, 6-3. The 37-year-old Fognini improved to 8-0 in opening-round matches this season.
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