Wimbledon star leaves opponent gobsmacked with 'one of most extraordinary shots ever'
Andrey Rublev booked his place in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after seeing off Alexander Bublik in the fourth round at the All England Club on Sunday.
Highlights from day 5 at Wimbledon
Wimbledon star Andrey Rublev left his fourth round opponent Alexander Bublik gobsmacked on Sunday after somehow sending a ferocious winner back across the net after appearing to be out of the point. The shot had fans at the All England Club up on their feet and was described by one tennis journalist as “one of the most extraordinary shots you will ever see.”
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Russian ace Rublev had raced into a two-set lead against his Belarusian opponent in the encounter on Centre Court after producing some fine tennis. But Bublik hit back by winning the next two sets on tiebreaks as the duo both upped their serving game to illustrate exactly why they had reached the last 16 of the tournament.
The momentum had appeared to have completely shifted in the favour of Bublik as the fourth set came to an end. But the Russian took control of the match once again as he broke serve early in the fifth set. Rublev was then given the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 in the final set and took a 30-15 lead. And he then pulled off his incredible shot to set-up two match points.
The players were engaged in an entertaining rally, with Bublik attempting to pull level in the game. And the Belarusian let out a loud grunt as he launched a huge backhand into the corner of the court.
The shot appeared to have way too much on it for Rublev to get it back in play - but the 25-year-old dived to the ball and somehow managed to fire it back over the net with interest. And Bublik froze in pure shock as Rublev‘s shot proved to be one of the best of the tournament as he won the point.
Tennis journalist Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca was in awe of Rublev’s winner as he described it on Twitter. “Andrey Rublev with one of the most extraordinary shots you will ever see,” he wrote. “Just outstanding!”
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BBC commentators Andrew Castle and John McEnroe also couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. Castle said: “Bublik’s wondering how it’s possible. He was convinced he’d hit a clean winner." And McEnroe replied: “That is one of the great shots we’ve seen here in years to get him to match point.”
Rublev served down an ace with his very next shot of the match as he secured a 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4 victory. And the ace is just two matches away from reaching the Wimbledon final.
