Last year's finalist Andrey Rublev lost out to Marcos Giron - in the very first round of the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN 2024. The 30-year-old American prevailed 6:4, 7:6(5), his first win against the sixth-ranked player in the world.
Marcos Giron impressed right from the start. It almost seemed as if he had the right answer to every shot from his opponent. Especially in the fifth game of the first set, the underdog of this match thrilled the spectators in the OWL Arena. Marcos Giron capitalised on his third break point - tellingly, Andrey Rublev slipped during this rally. The 30-year-old was able to win his subsequent service games and so the first round was 6:4 in his favour.
Andrey Rublev was unhappy with himself and the world, complained, grumbled and was already trailing in the second set. The fourth seeded favourite at this tournament gave up his serve to zero. Marcos Giron continued to play extremely well, absorbing the power of Rublev's shots and scoring points himself with impressive strokes. However, at 3:1 in favour of the American, Andrey Rublev suddenly hit top form. He scored ten points in a row to turn 1:3 into 4:3 and as both players went on to win their service games with aplomb, the match went into a tie-break. Once again, it was Marcos Giron who thrilled the crowd with his hard and precise shots. Andrey Rublev, on the other hand, even made a double fault. At 6:2, the American had his first match point. He showed nerves, but then converted his fourth match point.
If the law of the series continues in 2025, Andrey Rublev should reach the final in Halle again. He already achieved this in 2021 and 2023, followed by first-round defeats in 2022 and 2024.
