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Francisco Cerundolo has continued his strong form as on Thursday he upset second-seeded Andrey Rublev in the Hamburg last-16. Cerundolo, who lifted his first ATP title last week in Bastad, saw off Rublev 6-4 6-2 to progress into the Hamburg quarterfinal and push his winning streak to seven consecutive wins.
“I think I played another great match. I felt really comfortable on the court,” Cerundolo said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website. “I think in the first three games I didn’t play that bad, but he was really solid and didn’t miss many balls.
Then I started feeling more confident and I think I was very solid today”.
Cerundolo recovered from a slow start
Actually, it was Rublev that made a good start as the Russian led 3-0 after the opening three games. Cerundolo got the break back in the fifth game but Rublev broke again to open a 4-2 first set lead.
Just when it seemed the momentum was again on Rublev's side, Cerundolo responded with back-to-back breaks and won the next four games to overturn the deficit and steal the opener. After winning the first set, Cerundolo broke Rublev twice in the second set to complete a straight-set win.
Cerundolo, 23, has been playing the tennis of his life over the last few weeks and he admits this is the most confident he has ever felt. “It is really good to have this confidence at this level,” Cerundolo added.
“It is the first time it has happened for me. I am playing against the top guys and I am playing well and it is unbelievable. I really happy with my game and my head, because I am keeping my concentration and playing the whole match well”.
Cerundolo plays next Aslan Karatsev, who defeated Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros. It remains to be seen if Cerundolo can continue his strong form and reach the Hamburg semifinal.