Citi Open 2022: 3 Factors which stood out in Andrey Rublev's 1R win over Jack Draper

Top seed Andrey Rublev of Russia beat Jack Draper of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 to move into the second round of the Citi Open in Washington on Tuesday. The match lasted for an hour and 23 minutes.

Both players displayed an aggressive brand of tennis on Tuesday, but the 24-year-old Rublev was decidedly the better player. On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:

#1 Both players held their serve for the first eight games of the match

Both players held serve for the first eight games of the match. However, Draper had to save a couple of break points in the third game and another in the seventh to stay level in the opening set.

Both players kept attacking each other with their powerful groundstrokes from the outset. There were a number of crosscourt exchanges as well, as the 20-year-old Draper kept hitting his forehand with enough top spin to Rublev’s backhand.

#2 Andrey Rublev got the break and served out the first set

Andrey Rublev finally got a break in the ninth game of the first set to go 5-4 up. However, Draper was able to save as many as three break points before that. Rublev then managed to convert his seventh break point opportunity to take the lead.

The Russian then served out the first set. Rublev kept hitting his forehands with customary power as Draper committed a few unforced errors to make the Russian’s job easier.

#3 Rublev easily won the second set to finish the match

Jack Draper's serve wilted under pressure in the second set

Draper’s serve buckled under pressure in the second set, as the Brit was broken in the third and seventh game. He was able to hold his serve in the fifth game, but had to toil hard for it.

Rublev, meanwhile, never lost his serve in the match and played the angles wonderfully with his forehand. He also pulled the trigger to hit a few down-the-line backhand winners to stun Draper.

Both players hit 24 winners in the match, but Rublev won a staggering 89% of the points on his first serve against Draper’s 59%. Moreover, the Russian had 10 break point opportunities in the match and he converted three of them to reach the second round of the Citi Open.