A “panicking” Andrey Rublev turns to compatriot Daniil Medvedev for help before sealing a victory in the first round at the Australian Open against Medvedev’s French Open nemesis

Andrey Rublev pulls off a close victory to win his first game of the Australian Open.

A “panicking” Andrey Rublev turns to compatriot Daniil Medvedev for help before sealing a victory in the first round at the Australian Open against Medvedev’s French Open nemesis

Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev (Via Imago)

Andrey Rublev, one of the highlights of the day at the Australian Open, played a thriller of a match to seal his first-round victory. In another five-set match, the Russian used every inch of him to try and win the match.

It was a hard-fought match between the Russian and Thiago Seyboth Wild. A match that started as an easy win for Rublev turned into a nightmarish five-setter.

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He looked comfortable by winning the first two sets, but the Brazilian came back in style to win the next two sets, driving the match into the fifth set and Rublev into panic mode. The fans were glued to their seats as the powerful serves of Rubelv took the match into a 10-point tiebreak.

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In the post-match interview, the Russian revealed that he was thinking of his best friend Daniil Medvedev, who lost to the same opponent in Paris. 

With some advice from the World No.3, Rublev managed to win a mentally exhausting game. 

The fifth set I was inside completely panicking. But still, I was serving really well on the fifth set. The serve help me a lot because all the fifth set.
 Said Rublev after the long first game. 

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Andrey Rublev relied on his strong serves to seek revenge for his best friend Daniil Medvedev

Andrey Rublev managed to escape a first-round exit after beating his opponent 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6). This also saw a revenge win on behalf of his Russian friend, Danill Medvedev. 

Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev (Via Open Source)

Rublev revealed that he took some advice from Medvedev before his match, hoping for some advantage. The World No. 3 gave some deep insights, pointing out some strong and weak points of the opponent who beat him in the first round of the French Open.

Medvedev had told his friend that Wild was strong on his forehand and a little weak on the backhand, which he tends to fill down the line. 

I asked Daniil. And he said the same thing, that he have really good forehand. Backhand is a bit more -- like forehand is better than backhand, but still with backhand he likes to go sometimes full down the line and those kind of things.
Revealed a relieved Rublev to the AO Presser.

Along with the advice, Rublev also revealed that he was thinking about how Medvedev lost, which drove him into a state of panic. Luckily, the Russian had strong serves, which came to his support and kept him in the game at all costs. 

It was the mighty serves of Rublev that sealed out the game and got him a ticket into the second round of the tournament. His second-round opponent is yet to be decided as the No. 6 seed looks to make an early impact in the year.

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