Hong Kong Tennis Open: Rublev battles past powerful teen Fils, will face Shang in semi-finals
- Andrey Rublev beats Arthur Fils 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in enthralling encounter at Victoria Park
- Top-seeded Russian will now take on China’s latest young star Shang Juncheng
Andrey Rublev battled his way into the semi-finals of the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, beating Arthur Fils in three sets on Friday.
The Russian withstood some powerful hitting and a one-sided second set to see off the French teenager 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 at Victoria Park.
Next up for the top seed is China’s Shang Juncheng, who beat Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4. Sebastian Ofner will take on Emil Ruusuvuori in Saturday’s other semi-final.
Rublev had called his second-round victory over Liam Broady on Thursday “stressful”, but said the quarter-final was “the opposite”, despite it going the distance.
“I was feeling really comfortable on court,” Rublev said. “I was feeling the ball really good, and Arthur [Fils], I think he played also really good tennis.
“Arthur played really well in the beginning of the second set when he broke me, and then it was 3-0, and then he played one more good game and it was 4-0 out of nowhere. I didn’t really even have chances.”
