Australian Open 2023: Andrey Rublev edges past Holger Rune in a five-set thriller, sets up last-8 meeting with Novak Djokovic

For close to two hours in the second half of the Australian Open fourth round match, Andrey Rublev did the chasing. His teenaged opponent was almost out of sight, but the fifth seed kept going. Holger Rune 19, a tornado of a tennis player, was blasting a trail, wrecking the tale. Rublev led two sets to one, then rallied superbly in the fourth, breaking back, but fell short of holding for five-all. In the fifth set, the Moscow-born pro trailed 2-5, the world No. 10 had two match points in the 12th game. In the deciding tie-break, the powerful Dane ran up 5-0, 6-2, 7-3 leads. It looked done and dusted. Rublev, one of the nicest guys on the Tour, generous with his time especially when signing autographs, knows all about the little steps. One point at a time, he turned it around, to claim a stirring 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9) win that won the hearts of the Rod Laver Arena. A three hour 37-minute roller-coaster. The crowd may not have been even-steven, but Rublev had his share of support on the day. Not every ‘let’s go, Holger’ was met with ‘I love you, Andrey’, but a fair section of the stands was hearting the Russian. The 25-year-old, with an unruly crown, who is into his seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal — having never progressed further on a major stage — will hope to remedy that when he plays nine-time champion Novak Djokovic on Wednesday. “I was thinking it’s over. He’s playing much better than me, he deserves to win,” Rublev said of the final set and deciding tie-break. “He was going for the shots. He’s doing something that normally I am supposed to do if I want to win the match.” “If you have a chance to win three points, win three,” Rublev said of the conversation with himself in the tiebreak. “If you have the chance to win four, win four. In the end, somehow little by little I won two, then it became 7-6 and my serve. I make almost, ace, ace, and was 8-7 somehow.” Rublev, who won six successive points in the shootout, couldn’t convert the two match points. On the next opportunity, his third match point, he won on a net cord. “I was thinking, don’t be shy, just think that is not your match point, think that you are losing, and just hit the return,” he said. “When I was returning and I saw the direction that the ball was going, I saw how the ball touched the net. I was thinking for sure it’s net. Then somehow, he (the ball) passed (to the other side). Is the luckiest day because there cannot be a better moment.” Rublev, always respectful to opponents, fell on his back when the ball rolled over. Rune chucked his racket in frustration and ran to the net to congratulate his opponent, at which point the Russian realized that he hadn’t apologized for the net cord. Rublev was on his feet and the two players hugged, the man who crossed the finish line and the boy who was close. “I never in my life was able to win matches like this,” Rublev said. “This is the first ever time that I won something like this, especially in a very special tournament, the Australian Open.”