Rublev battles past Daniel to reach French Open second round

Andrey Rublev booked his place in the French Open second round after battling past Taro Daniel in four sets at Roland Garros.

The sixth seed, who is a two-time quarter-finalist at the season's second major, prevailed 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5 in just over three hours on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

Rublev triumphed on clay at the Madrid Open earlier this month and dominated the opening set, though his Japanse opponent pegged him back in a second-set tie-break.

However, the 26-year-old was not to be denied, taking the next two sets to book a showdown with either Pedro Martinez or Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round.

223 - Andrey Rublev has claimed his 223rd ATP match win since the start of the 2020 season. Only Daniil Medvedev (225) has claimed more ATP match wins over that span. Ever-bwehsent.#RolandGarros | @rolandgarros @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/AfLcP7JsZC

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 26, 2024

Data debrief

It is now 10 years since Rublev was crowned the boys' singles champion at Roland Garros, while he reached the first of his two men's quarter-finals in 2020.

One of the most consistent players in recent years, he has now won 223 ATP matches since the start of the 2020 season, with only Daniil Medvedev (225) registering more during that time.