The third round matches of the US Open began on Friday, August 30. Only one Russian played in the men’s draw today. Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, met Czech tennis player Jiri Legecka, ranked 38th in the ATP rankings.
Before the informational confrontation, the rivals were on an equal footing. Both players played the second round on Wednesday, August 28, and then received a day of rest. Both Rublev and Legechka spent a lot of time on the court and each won a very determined victory. Frenchman Arthur Rinderknes fell under the pressure of the Russian, and the Czech, despite the “shuttlecock” in the second set, defeated the American qualifier Mitchell Kruger.
Rublev also delighted the audience with an incredible joke:
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What is Rublev doing at the US Open? A video of a surprising prank involving 37 strikes is going viral on the Internet.
Andrey is ranked well above Jiri in the world rankings. However, it cannot be said that he was the clear favorite of the match. In the end, in the head-to-head match before today’s match the score was 2-2, and in the tough Legechka it was tied 2-1. Rublev won 4:6, 7:6 (7:1), 6:2 on clay in the second round of Belgrade 2022 and 6:4, 6:2 in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters 2023. and the Czech won 4:6, 6:4, 6:3 in the quarter-finals of Doha 2023 and 6:4, 6:4 in the third round of Indian Wells 2024.
Read more about Jiri Legechka here:
He defeated Nadal and Medvedev. At the US Open, Rublev will have to fight against a very dangerous Czech
Rublev started the match with a double fault, but that didn’t stop him from confidently winning the first set. At first, however, it looked like it was going to a tie-break. The tennis players reached 3:3 even without a single break point, not to mention a break. And after that, Andrei pushed even harder and won 12 points in a row, i.e. three games to love, including one break! Thus, the match, which lasted only 29 minutes, ended with a score of 6:3 in Rublev’s favor. The Russian did not always succeed with his first serve (57%), but he made almost no mistakes in the rallies. On the first serve, Andrei took 13 out of 13 moves. He had few winners – only seven, but even fewer unforced errors – three.
Andrey Rublev at the US Open – 2024
Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images
At the beginning of the second set, Rublev had some minor problems. In the second game he gave a double and soon Legechka got a triple break point. But Andrei, mainly with his serve, won it back, then saved another break point and did not allow the Czech to take the lead. And in the fifth game, the Russian earned a triple break point based on his opponent’s mistakes and finally converted it with a beautiful dribble.
Rublev then led 3-2 with a break, but failed to hold on to the advantage. In the sixth game, Legechka took his opponent’s serve for the first time in the match, 3:3. And in the ninth game, when the score was 4-4, the Russian started to get nervous. Having lost the first point, Andrey began to hit his thigh with his hand. And after the next move, which was also unsuccessful for him, he began to argue with the umpire on the tower about a way out.
Andrei Rublev hits his thigh
Photo: Screenshot of the broadcast.
Rublev brought this game to zero, but in the tenth game he answered his opponent in the same way – 5:5. And in the eleventh game, Jiri was leading 30-0 on his serve, but suddenly it began to be filled with inaccuracies and Andrey made a much-needed break from the third break point. After that, the Russian came back strongly and calmly closed the game – 7:5 in 50 minutes. As in the first set, on the first serve Rublev played almost without problems, scoring 20 points out of 22, that is, 91%.
In the third set, Rublev tried not to delay the break. The first game lasted 10 minutes and the Russian realized his plan from the seventh (!) break point. On the first six break points, Legecka had a good serve, but on the last move there was an exchange and the Czech shot into the net. Andrei, who had taken the lead with a break, confidently confirmed the advantage with 2:0.
In the fifth game, Rublev again reached a break point, but failed to do so. The score was settled immediately: in the sixth game, a series of errors by Andrey led to a break for the Czechs at 3:3. Fortunately, it was only a one-off episode. The Russian was not embarrassed even by two double faults in the eighth game: Jiri did not even face any break points. In the ninth game, Legechka made a mistake again and Rublev, serving for the match at 5:4, closed the game with a direct serve: 6:3, 7:5, 6:4 in 2 hours and 5 minutes. As for aces, he still lost to his opponent: 13 to 15.
In the fourth round of the US Open, Rublev will play against the winner of the match Tallon Grikspor (Netherlands) – Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria, 9).
On Saturday, August 31, 2021, US Open champion Daniil Medvedev (5), the second and last Russian remaining in the men’s draw, will play his third round match. Medvedev will play Italian Flavio Cobolli (31).
The US Open ends on September 8. Follow all the events of the “Championship”.
