2023 Wimbledon: Andrey Rublev beats Purcell to reach second round
Seventh seed Andrey Rublev beat Australia's Max Purcell in the men's singles first round at 2023 Wimbledon on July 3. The former claimed a straight-set win (6-3, 7-5, 6-4) after over an hour to sail into the second round. Rublev has reached the second round at Wimbledon for the fourth successive year (where he featured). He had a fourth-round exit in 2021.
Here are the match stats
Rublev won a total of 91 points and 27 winners in the match. His opponent Purcell struck more aces (8) than him (6). Rublev had a win percentage of 76 and 58 in the first and second serves, respectively. He won 38% of the receiving points. Notably, Rublev covered a distance of 11.6 meters per point.
First man to reach second round at 2023 Wimbledon
Rublev became the first man to reach the second round at 2023 Wimbledon. However, he had to toil hard after he was 2-5 down in the second set. "I was already preparing for the third set. I hit a few good shots and was able to come back and I played well at the end of the second set," said Rublev after the match.
Rublev wins his 32nd match in 2023
Rublev entered The Championships with a 31-13 win-loss record. The world number seven reached the finals in Halle where Alexander Bublik overcame him. Notably, Rublev defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals. Earlier this year, the former suffered a third-round exit at the French Open and reached the Australian Open quarter-finals. In April, Rublev won the Monte-Carlo Masters after beating Holger Rune.
Who is Rublev's next opponent?
Rublev will face either Aslan Karatsev or Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the second round. He will vie for only his second third-round appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam. As mentioned, Rublev reached the fourth round in 2021.
