Australian Open 2022 - Rampant Andrey Rublev blasts his way past Gianluca Mager into second round
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ByEurosport
Updated 18/01/2022 at 03:47 GMT
Gianluca Mager failed to make a dent in Andrey Rublev's charge to the second round of the Australian Open. The Russian was in imperious form with his trademark bullet forehand proving too much for the Italian on Margaret Court Arena. Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+. A subscription for discovery+.
Andrey Rublev
Image credit: Getty Images
Andrey Rublev played some of his finest tennis as he dismantled Gianluca Mager 6-3 6-2 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena.
The Russian slammed down 13 aces, hit 31 winners and produced only 13 unforced errors as he secured his place in the next round.
Rublev did not feature in the ATP Cup in early January and had not played competitively for a month, but he is pleased to get a win on the board.
"I preferred to have played the ATP Cup and feel the emotions and errors in a match and to feel the winning feeling," he said.
"It's not easy when you're not playing for a couple of weeks and you go straight into one of the best tournaments. You feel double pressure because you do not know how it is going to be. That's life. You cannot control it. I'm happy that I'm here so we will see what happens next.
When asked if he was happy with his 13 aces, he replied: "I'm comfortable with everything. The most important thing for me is to win. I prefer to win even if I hit zero aces."
There looked to some early signs of trouble for Rublev, who reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last year, as Mager instantly recovered from a break down to 2-2.
However, the 24-year-old would not be deterred. After Mager held his serve to go 3-2 up, Rublev the following four games.
The second set started in similarly tight fashion, but Rublev broke Mager's resistance by converting his third break point of the set to take a 4-2 lead and then added a further two games.
Mager could not cope with Rublev's intensity and the eight-time ATP title winner sealed the contest by breaking the Mager serve twice in the third and final set.
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