PARIS, November 2. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) Paris Masters Tournament after defeating Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands on Thursday.
In a match that lasted less than one hour and five minutes, the 6th-seeded Russian defeated his 3rd-round Dutch opponent in straight sets 6-3; 6-3.
"Today it went my way," the ATP’s official website quoted Rublev as saying after the match. "Early breaks gave me some confidence. From one set up you play with more freedom and then with a break in the second more free. Then you can go for even more."
Rublev, who plays on the ATP tour under a neutral status, was initially set to face in the quarterfinals the winner of the match between Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur of Australia.
However, the ATP’s press office reported later that "World No. 4 Jannik Sinner withdrew ahead of his match with de Minaur due to fatigue," meaning it will be the Australian player who battles Rublev for a place in the tournament’s semifinals.
Rublev, 26, is currently ranked 5th in the ATP World Rankings and has 14 ATP tournament titles to his name, two of those wins coming this year. He has also appeared in numerous Grand Slam tournaments, albeit never advancing beyond the quarterfinals.
Rublev took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.
The 2023 Paris Masters tournament is an ATP Masters 1,000 event and is being played on indoor hard courts at the Accor Arena in Paris between October 30 and November 5. The tournament offers 2.779 million euros (over $2.9 million) in prize money.
The tournament’s reigning champion is Holger Rune of Denmark. Notable Russians to win the tournament in Paris include Marat Safin (2000, 2002, 2004), Nikolai Davydenko (2006), Karen Khachanov (2018) and Daniil Medvedev (2020).
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also cancelling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.