Wimbledon: Rublev survives Bublik barrage in five-set thriller

Teen Andreeva the talk of the town
LONDON: If Mirra Andreeva were to have her own fragrance line, she could call it 'contradiction'.
The 16-year-old, the only qualifier left in the Wimbledon singles draws (men and women), says her room is a 'total mess'. But when she prepares her stuff, probably for a match the next day, she's meticulous. Everything has to be perfect."I'm not a perfectionist," she says, "but on the court I am."
The world No. 102 pulled off a 6-2, 7-5 win over the big-hitting Anastasia Potapova, ranked 23, to make her maiden Grand Slam fourth round.
Some 20 minutes into the 65-minute second set, Andreeva, down 1-4, rallied with a gritty counter. Potapova, aged 22, ran the teenager ragged, corner to corner, but Andreeva stood her ground before breaking in the 11th game and then piling on the pressure in the 12th to cross the finish line.
Andreeva, who hadn't played on grass before the qualifiers in Roehampton, has now won six in a row. She plays American Madison Keys, the world No. 18, for a place in the last 8.
Andreeva, who lost in the third round at Roland Garros, was lucky not to be defaulted from the clay court major. She took petulant swipes at the ball which flew in the direction of spectators. This week, she has appeared more composed. Andreeva, based in Cannes, on the French Riviera, said she wasn't showing much emotion on the court against Potapova because she was out of breath.
Andreeva had a talk with herself after Roland Garros, the teenager has plenty of those. 'Just me and myself', as she puts it. She says she's a regular teenager for the most part. "I'm just a normal girl. I do everything that girls my age do. I love to watch some series. I have to do my school. I have no choice. I have to suffer for two more years, and that's it," she said. "When I have free time, I prefer to be alone. But most of the time I watch Netflix."
Tennis fans are warming up to the Russians, who were banned from The Championships last year. While there have been debates on the matter, the Andrey Rublev-Alexander Bublik fourth-round match, as did Daniil Medvedev's run here, showed that at least in an individual discipline, it's the personality the fans ride on more than where a player comes from.
Rublev, the seventh seed, appeared to be coasting, leading by two-sets-to-love, but he lost the next two. "I was thinking it doesn't matter, I lost the third set, the fourth set," Rublev said. "Every set I had chances, on match point he served full power. I kept thinking just keep playing, don't start to explode before the match is over."
Rublev sneaked his third match point, this one in the deciding fifth set, with what looked like a squash shot. He changed his grip and lunged to slap a winner. Bublik watched in disbelief. "The most lucky shot ever! I couldn't do this one more time," Rublev laughed.
Rublev won 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 and Centre Court was on its feet applauding.
RESULTS:
Men 3rd rd: Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x21) bt Frances Tiafoe (USA x10) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; 4th rd: Jannik Sinner (ITA x8) bt Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-3; Roman Safiullin bt Denis Shapovalov (CAN x26) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Andrey Rublev (x7) bt Alexander Bublik (KAZ x23) 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4;
Women 3rd rd: Mirra Andreeva bt Anastasia Potapova (x22) 6-2, 7-5; 4th rd: Jessica Pegula (USA x4) bt Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-1, 6-3; Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) bt Marie Bouzkova (CZE x32) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3