WASHINGTON, August 14. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarterfinals stage of the 2025 ATP Cincinnati Open in the United States after defeating Francisco Comesans from Argentina on Thursday.

In a match that lasted for a little over than an hour, the 9th-seeded Rublev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, took down his Argentinian unseeded opponent in straight sets 6-2; 6-3 to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals stage.

The Russian tennis player is now set to play in the next round against 2nd-seed Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, who cruised by Italy’s Luca Nardi earlier in the day with a straight-set win of 6-1; 6-4.

After defeating Italian Nardi in just an hour and 20 minutes, Spain’s Alcaraz said: "I think this match was the best so far for me in this tournament."

"At the beginning of the tournament, I just really wanted to get better every day, after every practice and every match," the tournament’s official website quoted him as saying after the match against Nardi.

"I think I’m doing it, which I’m really proud about. I’m just really happy with the way I felt the ball today and the way that I moved," the Spaniard added without saying anything about his upcoming quarterfinal encounter against the Russian tennis player.

Rublev, 27, is currently ranked 11th in the ATP Rankings list. He won 17 career ATP singles tournament titles and four more in men’s doubles. Rublev also appeared in numerous Grand Slam tournaments, albeit never advancing beyond the quarterfinals.

The Russian tennis player 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 ATP Cincinnati Masters 2025 Open tennis tournament is played on outdoor hard courts in the city of Cincinnati, in the US state of Ohio, and will run through August 18. The event offers $9.1 million in prize money. The tournament’s reigning champion is World No.1 Jannik Sinner from Italy.

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 canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.