ATP Tour

Rublev's 'two key things' that helped him rally for Los Cabos SF spot

Andrey Rublev escaped a quarter-final hole with a stirring comeback on Thursday at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo in Los Cabos.

Having at one point been a set and a break down to Emilio Nava at the hard-court ATP 250, Rublev dug deep for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory. The top seed had let slip a 4-1 lead in the opening set and later trailed 2-4 in the second, but he showcased elite mental strength to stay calm and engineer a significant turnaround in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Nava.

Rublev prevails 🙌

He finds a way to get past Nava 5-7 6-4 6-3.@MifelTennisOpen | #LosCabosTennisOpen pic.twitter.com/4PWjjN5Rhf

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 18, 2025

“I think two things [helped me],” said Rublev in his on-court interview. “Firstly, I stayed calm, and secondly, I just tried to be focused and stay there. At least if I deserved to lose today, [I wanted] to give 100 per cent focus, because you never know what can happen, and in the end, it paid off. I was there, I was focused, and in a crucial moment [in the second set] I was able to break back. Then the match started to change.”

Rublev converted four of 11 break points he earned against Nava, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to reach his fourth tour-level semi-final of 2025. The 27-year-old is now on a 23-15 for the season, a tally highlighted by an ATP 500 title run in Doha in February.

The No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rublev’s last-four opponent on his event debut in Los Cabos will be Aleksandar Kovacevic. The American raced past Juan Pablo Ficovich 6-3, 6-1 to reach his third ATP Tour semi-final.

Denis Shapovalov and Adam Walton will contest Friday’s opening semi-final on the Mexican Pacific coast. The third-seeded Shapovalov downed Tristan Schoolkate 6-3, 6-2 to continue his strong 2025 on Mexican soil following his semi-final run in Acapulco in February.

Watch Extended QF Highlights From Thursday In Los Cabos:

Meanwhile eighth seed Walton continued his breakout run in Los Cabos by prevailing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Australian battle with James Duckworth. Competing in his maiden tour-level quarter-final, Walton rallied from 0-3 in the third set to seal his win. Walton is up 15 spots to No. 82 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Los Cabos run so far, setting him up for a new career high in Monday’s edition of the PIF ATP Rankings.